Step by Step with Teacher Zee: Critical Thinking in Reading and Writing (1 of 2)

In my writing class this summer, I have asked my student to read a 7 paragraph essay on the benefits of reading. The article is from EReading Worksheets by Mr. Donzo Mortini, a public school teacher from Chicago. The author on the article on Reading is undisclosed. It can be assumed, however, that the author is Mr. Mortini. So, when my student came face to face with the article, I had to inform him where I got the article from and lead him to the "About this Site" page. This way, the analysis of the source takes place.

My decision to have my student read the article on Reading is to prepare him for writing the personal and persuasive essay. One is casual and conversational while the other rests on an argument supported by facts. Both essays follow a fundamental structure where the main point, the general idea, the theme or the thesis is fleshed out, provided evidence for clarity, presented with examples including citations when sources are used. It is a complex process where analytical and synthetic thinking are applied. Overall, the entire process is critical thinking.

Here is how I facilitated this specific session.

1. For pre-reading, I asked the student to make a word web or a mind map on reading. This way, his prior knowledge is activated. It prepares him for the reading exercise. Furthermore, his understanding of the topic connects with new ideas he will encounter from the text. 

2. During reading, my student and I read aloud together. We stop at points where a sentence or a word piques our curiosity or when we are confused. A notepad and a pen is close at hand to record thoughts, insights or unresolved questions we have of the text. For this reading exercise, there are none because, the ones that moved us to wonder and ask questions have answers we found in the text.

3. The worksheet has two sets of questions to assess literal comprehension (set 1) and inferencing. He scored 7/10 on set 1. The second set allowed us to discuss his answers since a variety of responses can manifest. This is the exciting part. 

By engaging my student into a conversion of his answers, I was informed of his ability to analyze, pick out details and use them to support his answers. His short essays are a gauge of his skill level on critical thinking. I am happy to discover that he is ready to learn text structures and use them for writing the personal and persuasive essay. 

I asked him to write a summary of the article's main idea or theme with enough details to support it. This is where a graphic organizer comes into play.