Reading Strategies - Interrogating Texts

Comparing and Contrasting What this handout is about This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.” Introduction In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its own requirements. Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both. Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects Two ideas or theories

What Is Critical Reading? Note: These remarks are primarily directed at non-fictional texts. Facts v. Interpretation To non -critical readers, texts provide facts. Readers gain knowledge by memorizing the statements within a text. To the critical reader, any single text provides but one portrayal of the facts, one individual’s “take” on the subject matter. A non-critical reader might read a history book to learn the facts of the situation or to discover an accepted interpretation of those events. What a Text Says, Does, and Means: Reaching for an Interpretation Non-critical reading is satisfied with recognizing what a text says and restating the key remarks. Critical reading goes two steps further. These three steps or modes of analysis are reflected in three types of reading and discussion: What a text says – restatement What a text does – description What a text means – interpretation . Goals of Critical Reading Analysis and Inference: The Tools of Critical Reading

Critical literacy Critical literacy is the ability to read texts in an active, reflective manner in order to better understand power, inequality, and injustice in human relationships. For the purposes of critical literacy, text is defined as a “vehicle through which individuals communicate with one another using the codes and conventions of society”. The development of critical literacy skills enables people to interpret messages in the modern world through a critical lens and challenge the power relations within those messages. In this article History and theory of critical literacy The term “critical literacy” was developed by social critical theorists concerned with dismantling social injustice and inequalities. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire provides an example of how critical literacy is developed in an educational context. Critical literacy in practice Critical literacy and social action Critical literacy in the classroom Reading supplementary texts Classroom application Reading multiple texts

Integrating Quotations into Sentences You should never have a quotation standing alone as a complete sentence, or, worse yet, as an incomplete sentence, in your writing. IVCC's Style Book explains this concept well with a good analogy that describes quotations as helium balloons. We all know what happens when you let go of a helium balloon: it flies away. In a way, the same thing happens when you present a quotation that is standing all by itself in your writing, a quotation that is not "held down" by one of your own sentences. There are at least four ways to integrate quotations. 1. Example: In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states directly his purpose for going into the woods: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Example: Thoreau ends his essay with a metaphor: "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in." 2. 3. 4. Watch It!

Telling Time Activities Spin It to Win It Telling Time Activity: Play “Hour Power” and “Minute It To Win It” to begin learning about the basic parts of a clock. To create the games, use the clock pages as the spinner board. Attach the hour and minute hands onto paper clip. Information: Telling Time Activity, Using Clocks, How to Read a Clock, Reading Clocks Activity, Spin It to Win It Download Speed Reading Software and tools: Eyercize Thesis Statements A Formula For Writing Thesis Statements First, thesis statements have three main elements: A. The Steps Determine Your Topic What's the general category of your essay? State Your Position What is the one thing about your topic that you believe is true? Think of a Qualification Is there a valid argument against your position? Give the Reason Why do you think your position is correct in spite of your qualification? Put Them Together Arrange your steps in this order: 3+4+2 = Thesis (Qualification + Reason + Position = Thesis) This Example: Although schools of over a thousand students have flourished in America, small school populations lend themselves to building a good community of learners, and therefore we should consider limiting school populations to a hundred.)

16 Apps That Will Motivate Even Your Most Resistant Readers For every kid who is caught hiding beneath his covers with a flashlight and a novel at midnight, there is another who has to be begged and pleaded with to read. And the latter might need a little extra—shall we call it encouragement?—to become a great reader. To help, we've rounded up a list of the top apps that not only teach essential reading skills but also motivate kids—even the most book-phobic—to read, read and read some more. Apps For Early Readers Word Bingo: Who doesn't love a good game of BINGO? Super Why: With some help from some superhero readers, your kid will get a jump start on reading by playing these fun, interactive reading games. ABC Go: Have a planes, trains and automobiles fanatic at your house? ABC Wildlife: Or if your kid is more Jane Goodall than NASCAR driver, try ABC Wildlife where pictures of animals are paired with new vocab words and fun reading games. Apps for Elementary School Readers Mad Libs: Who didn't love Mad Libs as a kid?