Scanning text
Scanning: “Reading a text with the specific purpose of extracting information such as numbers, facts, words etc”
skim read this text from the last lesson again as a reminder of the text
A Remarkable Beetle
C For maximum dung burial in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a
variety of species with overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of
the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cms long), is matched with
smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The former are slow to
recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring
from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring,
produce two to five generations annually.
The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate
of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South
African tunneling species. In warmer climates, many species are active for longer
periods of the year.
Glossary
1. dung: the droppings or excreta of animals
2. cow pats: droppings of cows
Scan the table:
| Species | Size | Preferred climate | Complimentary species |
Start of active period |
Number of generations per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | 2.5 cm | cool | Spanish | late spring | 1 – 2 |
| Spanish | 1.25 cm | 1) | 2) | 3) | |
| South African ball Roller |
4) | 5) |
Look at the table and answer the questions.
What is the table showing?
Key Words: key points that help you look for the information you need in the text
What are the key words?
answers:
What is the table showing?
Information about 3 species of beetle.
We have previously skimmed the text, so we have a general idea of what it is about.
What are the key words?
They keywords you would be looking for are
“French, Spanish, South African, ball-rolling/ball roller”
Why?
The text is about beetles. The table is displaying information for each type of beetle. It is logical that the information regarding the ‘spanish’ beetle would be around the same key word.
You need to try and get an understanding of what type of information you will be looking for, which helps you identify the key words and where to look for it.
You need to now scan the text for the information. Reading and re-reading for each question will take up a lot of valuable time. This is why you need to employ these skills to help you.
Read the above paragraph again, can you find the key words in this paragraph?
the key word locations
For maximum dung burial in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a variety of species with
overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French
species (2.5 cms long), is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The
former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from
late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations
annually.
The South African ball-rolling species, being a sub-tropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and
coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunneling species. In warmer
climates, many species are active for longer periods of the year.
