Cal Expository Reading and Writing Response

I was actually surprised at how helpful this was for my own personal reading. I'm sure I got some lessons on prereading, reading and postreading, but it was pretty fuzzy. I really liked how this template broke down each piece. It helped me understand it as a reader and as an instructor.

Specifically, I liked the prereading predictions. By asking questions about what you think the reading will cover and how to turn headings into questions, it gives you a chance to grasp onto what the text is really saying. If I were to be wrong about a prediction, then it would stick in my head more because the unexpected happened. This questioning really engages you as a reader. It is active vs passive reading. I often find I need to reread sections because I was not fully engaged. Had I taken the time for some surveying and predicting, then I'd be more efficient with my reading.

I also liked how each step tied together. For example, having students connect ideas in the margins and then applying those to the summarizing stage seemed super helpful. Again, you as a reader are more engaged and you create less work for yourself later.

The standards listed in the margins were helpful to me also. At first, I was thinking that breaking down reading and writing this way seems tedious, however, the standards feel pretty intuitive and the steps in the template reflect that. If you want students to write argumentatively, then the prereading surveying, linking ideas in the margins, and gathering summary points is important to showing students how they have to back up ideas based on the text.

In the rhetoric feedback section, I liked the point about minimal marking. There is a time to be nitpicky and a time to focus on whether or not the students are grasping the bigger picture when it comes to expressing ideas on paper.

I found the sections on assessment helpful. I did not read all of them, but a few seemed like easy ways to get a sense for how the students are dealing with these reading/writing concepts. I personally favored the "No-Stakes" quiz and the Once Around (or Whip). The quiz would give me a clear sense on what concepts are clicking and what aren't. The Once Around would similarly help, and potentially help other students click with more ideas because they would hear it summarized by a peer.