"California State Universities Expository Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template"


Something I enjoyed about this template was the prereading, reading, and post reading strategies that was laid out. I remember in high school when we would hypothesize about what might happen in the text based on the title or the cover of the book. I also enjoy the part about making connections to the text from the students own life. This will help them remember the text better and create a connection with the characters and story. During the reading portion, students can look back at they predictions and see if they came true. It was always fun to see how other students believed the text would pan out. I had also never heard about "the believing game" that students will do with the text, which is believing everything the author is writing as opposed to "reading against the grain" or "playing the doubting game". Both of these strategies help with comprehension of the text. As for the post reading there are also other elements that can be incorporated into the classroom to ensure the student understood the text completely. One that everyone is familiar with is summary. This is creating a paragraph, or longer, about the main ideas from the text. It also helps to ask questions as to why the author decided to add a certain scene or character. The teacher can also ask questions about the writer and emotions to help stimulate discussion or further writing. Overall I really enjoyed the outline of this template. The language was simple and easy to follow. It also provided specific questions to ask and activities incase the teacher can't think of what to do. 

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