Day 8: Active Reading

What is the most important thing to know about writing body paragraphs? ANSWER HERE.

Short List

1. Attendance Check and Warm-up
2. Overview of Unit Prompt and the Writer's Help Assignment
3. Small Group Discussion
4. Main Mini-Lecture
5. Reading Warm-up

Homework:
Actively read this article by Monday.

---

The Details
Schedule of events:

1. Attendance Check and Warm-up

2. [12 minutes] Overview of the Unit Prompt & Writer's Help Assignment

Unit Prompt
I know that Omid discussed this on Monday, but I am going to walk through it looking that the prompt document together.

• What is a prompt?

Take a look at this document (it is also linked in the top right-hand corner of the website under the section title, "Class Links").  

The Paragraph Patterns Portfolio will have 4 stages: 

1. Comparison & Contrast Paragraph (due: 19 September) 
2. Cause & Effect Paragraph (due: 26 September) 
3. Process Paragraph (due: 3 October)
4. Final Drafts (due: 10 October)

Writer's Help Assignment

At the same time, you will also need to be working on the nitty-gritty of our writing.  

• By September 24, you will need to complete 5 Writer's Help exercises (not including the one you did to register Writer's Help).  
• You will report this using this document (also linked in the top right-hand corner of the website under the section title, "Class Links").  

• "Jon, what exercises should we do?!" you might find yourself asking.  That is completely ok.  I have provided a great document here to work as an informal guide for you.  You can access the document here (it is also linked in the top right-hand corner of the website under the section title, "Class Links")

3. [10 minutes] Small Group Discussion
Turn to a neighbor or two and ask each other these questions--be prepared to report on what your answers to these questions are as well as what your groupmates' answers are:

• Do you consider yourself a “reader”? In other words, do you enjoy reading (in any language)? 
• If so, what types of things do you like to read? If not, why not? 
• Do you ever make notations or comments in the margins of things you read (for pleasure or for class)? 
• What kinds of things do you note or comment on, in particular? (E.g. main ideas, specific details, questions about vocabulary, comments on writer’s claims, etc.)

4. [15 minutes] Main Mini-Lecture

Let's talk about the difference between active reading and passive reading.  

• How would you define "active reading?"
• How would you define "passive reading?"
• Do you think they are very similar or very different?

Follow along on this PowerPoint. 

The links mentioned in the PowerPoint are on the Writer's Help homepage:

1. Annotated Text
2. Guidelines for Active Reading

5. [10 minutes] Reading Pre-reading

Before we leave for the weekend and start reading this article, we are going to prepare ourselves, practice active reading in class, and have a little bit of guidance as we learn to do this on our own over the weekend.  

Article: "Are the French Really Better Parents?"

Homework:

For Monday, actively read the article, "Are the French Really Better Parents?"  You will be expected to have read this and to know the main ideas and important details on Monday morning.  Pay close attention to the article, because we will be using this as the source text from which we will draw inspiration for our first paragraph in the portfolio.  

Attribution: Sections 3, 4, and 5 were all originally created by Jill Tschopp-Huang and have been adapted in greater or lesser degrees (with sections 3 and 5 being unchanged with modifications in 4).