Reading To Enrich Your Classwork (1968)

[Music] a textbook is required reading for most of the subject objects you study in class sometimes you may wish to read enrichment materials magazines pamphlets newspapers and other books on the same subject why for the same reason that when you eat a good steak You may wish to eat other foods to make your meal more satisfying enrichment materials can satisfy your reading appetites more completely than can the text alone how can enrichment materials do this one way is by relating text material to your special interests special interests everyone has them [Music] Ken likes baseball so he reads a book on the history of baseball for enrichment it tells how the Indians played a game like baseball and how the game was played by George Washington's soldiers at Valley Forge this enrichment material adds to Ken's enjoyment of his text on American history it helps him learn more about Washington soldiers and what they did Joan's special interest is Art when she reads her textbook on the ancient civilization of Egypt will her special interest in art help yes if she reads a book on the art of ancient Egypt for enrichment see how she relates this special interest to her classwork if your text is on geography you can do the same thing suppose your special interest like Steve's is boats and ships you might want to read for enrichment on this subject a book on famous harbors of the World Harbors and coastlines ships and geography see how it fits together or suppose your text is on science and the chapter has to do with chemistry if your special interest like Karen's is cooking you can relate this to the textbook through a book on learning science through cooking enrichment materials can help you learn about most any subject in terms of your special interests special interests that's one benefit of enrichment reading another benefit is entertainment enrichment reading can make classroom subjects more entertaining suppose your text is on science you may not think of science as being a highly entertaining subject but it can be take this section on light from electricity for instance it tells about a wire made of tungsten the text gives facts about this material that it is an important part of the modern incandescent lamp and so on interesting facts but not exactly entertaining but suppose you read for enrichment a book about Thomas Edison the scientist inventor who perfected the electric light bulb you would learn that when Tom Edison was a boy he was found one night sitting on a nest of straw what was he doing his dad asked sitting on some eggs why what was the reason for this strange Behavior could Tom explain it well he had been watching the mother hens in the barn sitting on their eggs to hatch them he was curious to see if he could have eggs by sitting on them early in life Tom was showing the Curiosity that was to later help him become a famous scientist you can see how this story of Edison brings out human elements of science Making It entertaining this book entertains by presenting the same facts you'd find in a science text but in a different way it's about the life of a bear from the Bear's point of view imagine yourself a baby bear being cared for by a mother bear imagine the fun of searching for your food high in the branches of a tree classwork can also be made entertaining by poetry here's a poem describing different kinds of bees and the jobs they do the worker bee has her own style different from the queen her body is much stouter her eyes are very keen her pointed tongue is like a tube she sips the flowers gay much like We Sip our lemonade on some hot summer day enrichment materials can add entertainment to classwork they can also add details beyond what you will find in your text suppose your text is on geography you're reading a chapter on Mexico the text covers the entire country in just 10 pages this allows only a few paragraphs on each of the major features this single paragraph is about school which is all you need for an overview but suppose you want to know more details about the schools of Mexico suppose you want to know where a school is located what a Mexican School building looks like what the pupils wear when they go to school where they sit how they are taught what subjects they study and so on you can get these added details from enrichment reading along with added details enrichment reading can also contribute to the accuracy of what you read suppose your text is on American history this one has a chapter on Lewis and Clark explorers of the West Reading through the text you get the author's account of the exploration according to the text they met many more Indians each time Captain Lewis spoke to them and gave them presents the Indians promised to be friendly friendly how does the author know they were friendly probably from reading this book the Lewis and Clark expedition by Merryweather Lewis the man who headed the Expedition here are Lewis's actual words describing a meeting he had with the Indians the next morning the Indians with their six chiefs were all assembled under an awning formed with the main sail in presence of all our party paraded for the occasion a speech was then made announcing to them the change in the government our promises of protection and advice as to their future conduct they expressed their Joy at the change in the government their hopes that we would recommend them to their greata the president so the Indians were friendly you can see how original writing such as Lewis and Clark's expedition can help in checking the accuracy of what you read in addition to accuracy enrichment materials can help you get points of view other than those found in your text in a health text for instance you might come across the subject of air pollution the author gives you his views on the causes of air pollution and its cures but you may want other points of view you can learn what other people have to say through enrichment reading your librarian can lead you to a number of sources one of them is the reader guide to periodical literature this is an index that tells about articles that have appeared in various magazines the guide lists the articles by subject matter and tells where to find them you may find one that considers air pollution from the point of view of an industrial spokesman another from the point of view of a weather expert or air pollution as seen by a medical expert an economist and so on a newspaper index will tell you what information has appeared on your subject in the various issues of the newspaper publishing the index your librarian can also lead you to the vertical files which contain pamphlets on the subject by reading about problems from many points of view you will get a clearer understanding of the problems than by relying on your text alone you can see then that there are a number of ways in which enrichment readings can satisfy your reading appetites anyone for a full meal [Music]