Skimming and scanning are very important reading techniques. In short, skimming refers to looking through material quickly to gather a general sense of the ideas, information, or topic itself.
When you skim, you read through an article three to four times faster than when you read each word.
Scanning refers to reading through material to find specific information. When you scan, you run your eyes over text or information to pull out specific words, phrases, or data.
For example:
You quickly go through a twenty-page report in a few minutes, and determine the overall subject, tone, and a few key points. This is skimming.
You pick up the newspaper in the doctor's office, thumb through the first few pages, and gather the gist of the events happening in the world. This is skimming.
In the classroom, you may ask students to find specific key words in an article, or answer questions for comprehension, or decide on the purpose of the article. With students who must read and understand every word, the opportunities for effective discussion becomes limited. The opportunity to select more challenging articles also becomes limited, otherwise the entire class may be spent on a line-by-line translation.
Outside the classroom, students may look at bus timetables, job advertisements, business reports, emails, and so on. A student will need to effectively and quickly gather and synthesize the information, an impossible expectation if he were to read each word. The sooner students become accustomed to, develop, and improve their skimming and scanning skills, the better. (1)
Start Skimming:
Kota Kinabalu or 'KK' as it is popularly known, is a pleasant Borneo surprise, set between lush tropical hills and the South China Sea.
It is the state capital of Sabah. KK was granted city status on 2 February 2000.
In 1899, the British named the new settlement "Jesselton" after Sir Charles Jessel, the Vice-Chairman of the British North Borneo Chartered Company.
Jesselton was also known as Api-Api, which literally means "fire-fire". Jesselton was renamed Kota Kinabalu on 30 September 1968 for the majestic Mount Kinabalu.
Mount Kinabalu, the majestic summit of Borneo is the focal point of Kinabalu Park and the whole of Sabah. This magnificent granite massif stands at 4,095.2m (13,435ft) tall. (3)
