Since so many of you lost your independent reading handout... and since it's due 3/4... and since you'll probably need to be working on it over the long weekend...I've tried to post the handout here.
But the blog is being silly and won't let me cut and paste into a blog post. It will, however, let me post it as a comment (does anyone know why? I'd love to solve this problem.) So, read the first comment for the directions.
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Independent Reading Project
ReplyDeleteEngage in the argument
Read a non-fiction, non-narrative text. You may not read a book assigned for another class (Biology textbook, A People’s History of the United States, etc), however, you may ask other teachers for recommendations of books that might further your knowledge in a given area.
You will write eight entries in response to the book. Those entries should be evenly spaced throughout the reading. Format:
A. A passage from the text, accompanied by parenthetical citation. Passages should be no more than a few sentences long.
B. A mini-explain. In 1-2 sentences give the meaning of the passage in the context of the larger argument or book.
C. Engage in the author’s argument. Think of this as a mini-respond. It must reflect your thoughts, opinions, and ideas about the passage, not simply summarize the passage. You might comment on both the style and content of their argument. You might be supportive or critical. Make sure to clearly state what is your opinion vs. the author’s opinion. Ideas:
a. Yes and = Add information not found in the book, connect the passage to other ideas, or apply the argument to different situations.
b. Yes but = Explain what you agree with and why, then point out a problem in argument style, a situation in which the argument isn’t applicable, or a part of the argument that you disagree with.
c. No= Why don’t you agree? So you have any evidence?
Example:
A. “I was in a dorm hallway my freshman year when I heard them speaking Spanglish, and I impulsively poked my head in their room and joined their conversation. They didn’t mind – Spanglish speakers embrace other Spanglish speakers. ” (Gonzales 1)
B. In this passage, Lilly Gonzales is talking about how she made friends with people in college just because they both spoke Spanglish. She is arguing that shared language can be the basis for friendship.
C. To be honest, I think that this probably over simplifies the truth. Spanglish may be what first lent them a feeling of comfort with each other, but I doubt that “speaking Spanglish” would be enough to constitute a lasting friendship. Most friendships are based on much more than one commonality. Further, her statement that “Spanglish speakers embrace other Spanglish speakers” reads like an absolute. I find absolutes like this problematic because it only takes one example of a Spanglish speaker not accepting another one to poke a hole in her argument. Then once there’s one hole, the whole things starts to seem suspect. That said, I found her personal story compelling. If she had stopped after “They didn’t mind” instead of pushing on with her absolute, then it would have served to not only make her argument feel more relevant and personal, but also more plausible.
This shall be interesting!
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