Strategies for Teaching Critical Reading
1. Preview the
assigned reading
- Summarize it in the previous class
- Ask interesting questions that will be answered
in
the reading
assignment
- Take a poll on some of the issues addressed in
the
reading
assignment
- Emphasize the interest, usefulness, and fit in
the
course
sequence of the reading
2. Do not repeat the reading in a lecture
Do
not make listening to your lecture become the student's reading
strategy.
It is tempting when students do not or can
not
read the textbook chapters to make sure the course content is "covered"
by telling the students what they should have learned by reading the
textbook.
Among the reasons for not lecturing on assigned reading are
- Your students will not learn to read for
comprehension--a
valuable skill in your discipline.
- Your students will not learn to read
critically--also a valuable
skill in your discipline.
- Your passive learners will not learn how to apply
the course information if the time they spend on task is spent on the
tasks
of listening and taking notes.
- Enough class time will not be spent on higher
order thinking
tasks, such as applying, conceptualizing, analyzing, synthesizing,
classifying,
comparing, evaluating.
3. Have students write something in response to the text
Demonstrate how to do it; provide a model.
Write your daily instructions in the daily course
syllabus. Some examples are
- Outline or concept map
- Summary
- Ask/answer questions
- Read it twice, annotating then text as a
believer
and then
as a doubter
- Write double-entry notes:
one page (or column) for summaries of the text, and
an
adjacent page (or column) for comments - Personal
response
4. Design a focused, informal writing-to-learn task based on the
reading
For example:
- Connect the reading to a past lecture or to
prior
knowledge
- Compare/contrast with another reading
- Critique/evaluate
- Apply the reading content to a scenario or case
For some suggestions for
designing
informal writing tasks that promote thinking, see the workshop on designing
writing assignments that promote thinking, especially sections 7
and
8.
5. Monitor compliance
Develop ways to
ensure
that students do their homework without burdening yourself with daily
feedback
or recordkeeping.
See A Strategy for
Getting
Students to Arrive in Class Prepared to Think
By William Peirce c. 2006
Send e-mail to wpeirce@verizon.net
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