Friday, January 31, 2014

Homework for Monday, 2/3:

1. Actively read (read the definition below, and follow instructions) the first chapter, "Food is Good," in Kitchen Confidential.
  • Take notes on the main plot action in the chapter. 
  • Pay attention to how old Bourdain is and what his stories tell us about the type of person he appears to be portraying.
2. Keep working on your mnemonic device. Have a rough draft of your thesis statement (that most important sentence idea), in which you identify the device and its main purpose.
  • Writerly tip: 
      • Ex.:  The acronym PRE is a simple device for remembering three fundamental parts of a body paragraphs structure: point, reason, and example. 

Active Reading Skills  (all smart writers take their time to study and dissect what they're reading)

  • Pay close attention to, pose questions, and break down any text that comes one’s way by doing the following:  
    • Highlighters can be good friends

    • Take Notes in a notebook as you read
  • Use the margins of a text | all available white space of a page
    • Create a running commentary of emotions
    • Pose questions
    • Pull out the main concept / restate main word from a paragraph
    • Note where ideas shift at beginnings of new paragraphs (chart the author’s "progression of thesis"!)

    • Re-title the piece or its sections for your own reflective understanding

    • At end of reading text, in white space at end of chapter/piece, or in your class notebook:
      • What is the major plot point? (good in literature to ask)
      • What were major examples to pull from piece?
      • What lesson did the main character learn? 
      • What things did I learn from the piece?
      • other ideas that you were inspired to come up with...

    • Compare and contrast/transfer your knowledge: in your notebook or in the margins, it's also a good strategy to connect what you read to the outside world.
      • Examples:  Anthony Bourdain reminds me of...?  When X happened to Bourdain, it was like when I read about/watched Y, which makes me think Z! 

    • Dictionaries can be your BFF;  build your vocabulary
  • Jot down/highlight those words you are not sure of as you read. Then, look them up and put the definition in context of the reading.

No comments:

Post a Comment