California State Standards

I really enjoyed how this article showed how they scaffold the reading and writing process. First, it outlines what it will be talking about, then goes into detail for each section and gives more information and possible things that could help the students. For example, for Prereading, one of the things for that section to help the students is to try to get them to make a connection between their world and the world of the text. I love this because I believe that when you make a personal connection to something you are reading, it makes learning more fun. Another section I really appreciated was the "Noticing Language" section because I honestly am nervous about dealing with language that students will not understand. I know there will be times when I don't have an answer for my students and I hope it can be something we learn together and they don't lose their trust in me whenever I do not know something. However, I really liked the different tips the article gave in this section. It's definitely something I would like to refer back to if I need help with focusing on language that might be difficult for my students.

"Annotating and Questioning the Text."
I was never taught how to annotate or question a text, even in college. I was always told to just make notes whenever things didn't make sense, look up a definition of a word I didn't know and write it down, but this article gives instructions on a possible way to structurally analyze a text. It says to label the different parts of the text throughout it on the left margin; things like, summary, introduction, problem(s) being addressed, examples and conclusion. Then, it tells you to put your own thoughts about the text in the right margin. I think this is a great way to take notes as you are following along with the text, plus it keeps you and your thoughts organized (hopefully).

I think this article is a great resource when it come to the reading and writing process. I think I will definitely refer back to it when my students are struggling with a specific portion of reading and/or writing.