Speed Reading, Merrill Ream

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Lesson 1
On this first day of class, you'll read a story to evaluate your present reading rate. You'll learn how many words per minute you read now, and then we'll compare that number to what percent of the reading material you're really comprehending. You'll also get an opportunity to check out the speed reading accomplishments of some of my former students. Then, you'll complete an eye-span exercise to start you on the path toward becoming a speed reader!

Lesson 2
In this lesson, you'll practice some basic reading eye movements and learn how they're important to the speed reading process. Then, you'll take a reading rate and comprehension test. Your results will give you a baseline that you can use to chart your speed reading progress in this course, lesson-by-lesson. From there, you can set goals to increase you reading rate while maintaining a good reading comprehension.

Lesson 3
By now, you might feel that the activities you're using to master your speed reading skills are becoming routine and repetitive. So today, we'll talk about how and why you should continue doing the Regulated Reading, Timed Reading, and Assignment exercises to gain increased reading rates with good reading comprehension. Finally, you'll read some stories that are formatted to help you improve your speed.

Lesson 4
Today, we'll examine the retinal image phenomena and how it relates to a speed reader's eye movements. Speed reading is a skill that's best achieved by doing repetitive practice, so we'll continue working on those exercises that are helping you to improve your speed.

Lesson 5
You'll probably find it helpful to work on lesson activities in the same comfortable and familiar surroundings. In this lesson, we'll talk about eight bad reading habits that contribute to slow reading, then we'll explore how to overcome them. Finally, we'll review some terminology that's unique to speed reading.

Lesson 6
In this lesson, we'll look at 16 good speed reading practices you can apply to our course exercises and any other reading you do outside of class. We're at the midpoint in the course, so this is also a good time to compare your reading rate and comprehension scores with those of the former students you read about in Lesson 1. From there, we'll set goals for you to meet in the remaining lessons.

Lesson 7
You'll probably be reading pretty quickly by the time you reach this lesson, but how can you make sure your comprehension scores are keeping up? Today, we'll look at skills you'll need to work on to improve your comprehension. You'll find out what keys and identified parts are unique to all stories, and knowing those will help you to improve your comprehension. You'll be glad to learn that you already know a few speed reading skills and techniques as we continue to apply them to our course activities.

Lesson 8
Today, you'll practice speed reading skills and techniques in real-world reading materials outside of class. You'll learn a method you can use to measure your speed reading rates when you're reading such materials. At this point, you'll be eager to read outside materials, not just for their content, but to further develop your speed reading skills and techniques.

Lesson 9
We're now ready to analyze your personal speed reading style. You'll once again compare your speed reading rate and comprehension scores with those of former students in Lesson 1 to see how you stack up against others. We'll also compare your current scores with the scores you recorded at the beginning of the course to see how far you've come!

Lesson 10
Today, we'll look at eight word recognition vocabulary skills that you can work into your personal speed reading style. You'll learn how context clues and literal and inferential meanings in stories influence comprehension. All are part of the English language and fit right in with speed reading.

Lesson 11
Today, we'll see if we can figure out which of your behavior patterns are most useful in your own speed reading style. First and foremost, you need flexibility to focus on improving your reading speed, then you need an experimental attitude to get rid of poor reading habits. We'll study how the time you put in and the effort you expend affect your speed reading progress.

Lesson 12
In our last lesson, we'll look at your personal speed reading accomplishments, as well as your speed reading future. Form here on out, you're in the real world of reading. But you'll go into it with a lifelong speed reading skill. You'll learn how to adjust your personal speed reading style to any materials you read, because now you are a speed reader!