- 1). Skim through the table of contents to orient yourself to the book. Look at the chapter titles and the subtitles in the table of contents to develop an overview, paying particular attention to the sequence. Math involves steps and procedures, and are taught in a specific sequence. Familiarize yourself with this sequence.
- 2). Write down questions for the book based on the information gleaned from reviewing the table of contents' titles and subtitles. For example, if a title is "Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability," the question might be, "How do you analyze data from statistics?" or "How does probability work in statistics?" Write one question for each chapter title. When developing the questions, think about what you already know about the concept or subject, and what you want to know more about as you read.
- 3). Skim through the index of the book at the end, as well as the glossary. Become familiar with the vocabulary in the glossary and the reference terms in the index. Circle words from the glossary that you do not know, such as any pertaining to a procedure that you haven't learned yet, and any related terms from the index that are unfamiliar. Keep these words handy by writing them down in a math journal to make sure you learn them as you study the book and practice with the exercises.
- 4). Check off the words circled from the glossary and written in your math journal as you read about and become familiar with them. Any left unchecked at the end of a unit or chapter in which they're used should be looked up again and studied later.
- 5). Highlight information such as new concepts and steps involved in procedures that will be important to remember as you read on, or that you think might be important to use in solving problems later. If you can't highlight in the textbook, write information down as notes. Use a double-column note-taking method, with the word on one side and the definition and procedures outlined on the other.
- 6). Work through all examples and include all steps. Because examples are usually easier than the practice questions, break them down completely. If the example skips the steps, write them down---this analysis will help you later. If you don't understand the example, indicate the point in which understanding broke down. Reread the page and look up information in the glossary, or locate it in the index and find another place in the book that uses it. Don't go any farther in the book until you have full understanding. Go back and reread until you do.
- 7). Reflect on what was read by writing a short summary about it. If it is a concept, explain it in your own words, like multiplication, for example. If you were a teacher, how would you explain it to your student? Reflection increases comprehension.
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