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California State Universities Expository Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template

There was nothing about this template that really stood out to me. A lot of the practices and ideas are things students will come in contact with through class curriculum either way (at least, that would be my hope). It's extensive and wordy but at least it's very thorough and direct with the approach here. A student looking for detailed information about concepts like "rhetoric", "drafting", and "pre-reading" will find this template useful. But as a teacher, many of these concepts have already been burned into my brain. My approach to lessons will come naturally to look similar to this template, as well as the instruction that I give my students.

The section that did interest me the most (and that I would find most beneficial for students to know about) was "Annotating and Questioning the Text" on page 10. Specifically, I liked how it said: "In rereading, it is helpful if students read 'against the grain,' or 'play the doubting game.' This is where the conversation shifts and the reader begins to question the text and the author." I think the younger the student, the harder this may be to do. That's why it would be better to start early and help them understand how annotating and thinking about a text is less about analyzing it and more about "having a conversation with the author", so to speak. This understanding will be incredibly useful for students in their academic careers and in their personal lives. In a day and age where streams of information are constantly flowing to adolescents through their phones, being able to question and engage in an internal dialogue with a text is immensely helpful. It will help them form independent thoughts and opinions and learn the process of critical thinking.

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