Ch 3

Reading Methodology

Concepts

Processes

Tools

Context

Way of Being

This activity helps students become familiar with using a Reading Log. There are strong examples (by Molly and Paula) of completed Reading Logs within the chapter and Instructor Feedback (in SII Assessment format) is available at the bottom of each. Students see how a form should be completed; the goal of this activity is for students to focus on both the awareness as well as the content of their own reading, then follow the models for presentation. You should be sensitive to the fact that students will be assessing other students' work as part of this activity. Be sure to stress that they are not judging one another's work, but helping each other. Students will not have strong assessment skills at this point in the course; if they begin to appreciate that assessment (especially when it includes an action plan) is all about improving their performance, they will be more likely to respond positively, especially affectively.

This activity requires students to apply the Reading Methodology as they read an article from a newspaper, magazine or textbook.  A series of questions help study better understand and apply the Reading Methodology. There are two strong examples (Jen and Molly)

Notes on the Critical Thinking Questions

Appreciate that students will struggle to answer some of these questions. The directed questions (#1 and #2) should be fairly straightforward.  

1. Where and when was your article published (local newspaper, magazine, textbook for a course)?

2. What is the main point of the reading material you chose?
   Students must read critically in order to determine the theme or main point of a reading.

3. How does the article’s place of publication influence the style of the writing? Describe two characteristics of the writing.
   Questions 3 through 6 lead students through some of the important aspects of reading critically. This question begins to sensitize students to the larger context of any given content.

4. Who do you think the intended audience is? What clues in the writing tell you this?
   This question sensitizes students to the relationship between a writer and his/her readers. This will be a real discovery for some students who tend to think of writing as an isolated and somewhat self-involved activity.

5. What is the primary purpose of the article you chose? For example, does it convey information, argue a position, evoke an emotional response?
   We are further helping students become sensitive to the issues and concerns that make up the context or purpose of given content.

6. What is the author’s attitude towards the subject matter? What clues in the writing tell you this?
   This question allows students to appreciate the issue of objectivity/subjectivity in writing.

7. Why did you choose this article rather than something else?
   This question will tell you a great deal about the student him/herself.

8. What points in the article do you agree with? What points do you disagree with? What is most interesting about this article?
   This question allows students to respond to the article from a personal, though analytical perspective.

The focus of this activity is for students to apply textual analysis, through use of the Reading Methodology, to a reading. Students should be reading from the perspective of cultural appreciation rather than simply processing information. A series of reading questions guide students through this process with a literary text selected either by the student or by the instructor. If you are interested in leading any discussion about this activity, you should consider assigning a reading. This will be an exercise in applying the Reading Methodology, but also an exercise in discovery for some students, as they may not be familiar with the challenge of performing literary analysis. The Reading Methodology is a way for students to begin reading actively, asking questions, assessing, and ultimately synthesizing (applying information across contexts) as they work with any given content.

Notes on the Critical Thinking Questions

The answers to the questions will depend upon the material students read. In order to be able to foster or lead a meaningful discussion, consider assigning a reading, rather than allowing students to choose their own.

1. Who does this text address as its audience, who does it exclude, and how do you know?

2. What picture of the world does this text present, and what pictures of the world does it exclude?

3. When was the text written and why was it written?

4. How is this text relevant to the course in which it is assigned?

5. What do you find most interesting about this text?

6. If there are characters, try to understand their complexities, what motivates them, how they interact. Does the text elicit an emotional response, and if so, what is it and how is this response accomplished?

7. How is this text relevant to current events, other texts you have encountered, material you have learned in other courses, your personal experiences?