Blog Post #3: California State Universities Expository Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template

This entire packet had some really useful tools, tips, and teaching methods that I plan to use in my future classroom. I also found some information that I found to be a little too traditional for my liking. The fact that this whole assignment template has a creative new age use of writing and reading skills made me really excited to see how some of these methods actually work in the classroom.

             Reading is imperative to become a good writer. You can learn from other writers by looking at their style, diving into their vocabulary, and improving your creativity in a variety of ways.  One section talked about “Exploring Key Concepts.” I think that this is so basic, but so important for students to master. Students need to learn the difference between essential and non-essential information in order to find the key concepts. When students reach the point where they can decipher between information that is important and the things that are not, then they are able to start building a stronger understanding of the material. Along with reading comes the idea of “Making Predictions and Asking Questions.” Students need to start learning to make inferences on their own. They also need to start asking questions that will lead them to making more inferences. I find that having students ask their own questions while they are reading a text can lead to deeper understanding as well. They read a text, ask a question, and then they can refer back to the question and answer it. I completely agree that this process helps readers develop a purpose and a plan for what they are reading. Students will feel more engaged and develop a stronger understanding for material.

            Postreading is an extremely simple, yet effective way of helping students understand the information being given to them. One of the main reasons why I liked this so much was due to the focus on central ideas of the text. I like this because the more and more I’m in the classroom teaching students different texts, the more I recognize that they really struggle with finding the central idea. This leads to students not understanding characters, reasoning behind certain actions, and other small, but key details. One method they said this could be effective is if students are given the chance to summarize. I love the idea of students having the opportunity to really grasp onto the information that they are reading by jotting down what they think about it in their own words. This also gives students the chance to respond to a text, which is great if your students lack in the engagement category.

            I really liked this packet because of how many useful tips, methods, and strategies they had for students. I don’t think that they went into enough detail regarding specifics in each of the categories. I do think they did a good job building a big enough umbrella to encompass the amount of generalized information given. You could write a book on each of these sections and develop more specific strategies for writers and readers.