Reading for Thinking (7th ed.) - Additional Materials

Power Points

I have created chapter-specific Power Points for the 7th edition of Reading for Thinking, available on Jan. 7. However, the Power Points, particularly for the first chapters, are easily adapted for the 6th edition. Please contact me if you are interested in using them with either edition.

Syllabus Suggestions and Explanations

What follows is a sample syllabus for the seventh edition. The syllabus admittedly proceeds at a very fast pace. However, instructors should feel free to slow that pace down at any point. Let me also offer the following additional suggestions:

  1. You'll notice that the syllabus sometimes suggests class assignments and homework assignments that come from two different chapters. I do this intentionally when I think that the text's explanations, say the meaning of context clues, can be briefly summarized in class and then assigned for homework even though students are working on a different chapter in class. For example, I have merged the two chapters within the syllabus because I believe that context clues are a useful complement to any discussion of study skills.
  2. I think that most of the in-class work can be done in groups or pairs and then corrected orally. Also, completing an entire exercise is not always necessary. Do it only when you think students aren't getting the concept or skill being taught.
  3. In January, Power Points will be available for each chapter of this text. I didn't refer to them in the syllabus since I'm not sure every instructor will use them. However, if you do make use of the Power Points, I would introduce them at the start of every chapter, but save the final Power Point review and Critical Thinking Brain Teaser slides for when you have completed the chapter.
  4. The syllabus does not cover all of the vocabulary exercises in the book, but I think students should be responsible for learning all of the words introduced in the chapters. You can either make the vocabulary part of the final, without specifying which words will be covered, or else do a lengthy vocabulary test midway and at the end of the semester.
  5. When you begin a new chapter, I'd suggest starting class with an Allusion Alert or a "Taking a Closer Look" question. You can do either fairly quickly and use them as ice breakers to get students thinking without their having to stay focused for a long period of time right from the get-go.

Syllabus for Reading for Thinking (7th ed)

Printable pdf file

Week 1 Day 1 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Introducing SQ3R; Previewing Questions and Answers
At home assignment: SQ3R exercises
Day 2 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: The Reason for Paraphrasing; Reading versus Writing Paraphrases
At home assignment: Chapter 1: Using the Web for Research.
Day 3 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Pointers on Paraphrasing; Building an Academic Vocabulary
At home assignment: Chapter 2: "Vocabulary Building for College Reading". Master the Specialized Vocabulary of Your Courses (Please raise any questions you might have in the next class.)
Please note: Most of what you do for at-home assignments will be corrected orally in class. We probably won't correct each item, but since you won't know which items we will be discussing, you should make sure to do them all. The exercises, however, will be collected.
Week 2 Day 1 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Pointers on Summary Writing; Recognizing the Best Summary
At home assignment: Chapter 2: Using Context Clues and Word Parts
Day 2 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Summarizing News Articles; Building an Academic Vocabulary
Day 3 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Summarizing a Chapter Section: "Wartime in Hawaii"
At home assignment: Writing an Effective Summary (Please turn in the article with the summary on Monday and remember the original has to be at least 3 paragraphs long.)
Week 3 Day 1 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Summarizing "Great Moments in Marine History"
At home assignment: Reading Hypertext; Creating Effective Search Terms;
Evaluating Websites (Please note: There will be a quiz on this material.)
Day 2 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Digging Deeper reading: "Mad for Words"
At home assignment: Chapter 2: Make Allusions Part of Vocabulary Building;
Putting Allusions into Sentences
Day 3 Chapter 1: "Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success"
In class: Recognizing an Accurate Paraphrase; Creating a Paraphrase
At home assignment: Tests 1 and 2 (Chapter 2). To be corrected in class
Week 4 Day 1 Chapter 3: "Reviewing Paragraph Essentials"
In class: Recognizing Topics, Main Ideas, and Topic Sentences; The Role of Repetition and Reference
At home assignment: Using SQ3R: How the Need for Achievement Spurs Motivation [to be corrected in class]
Day 2 Chapter 3: "Reviewing Paragraph Essentials": Supporting Details
In class: Recognizing Topics and Supporting Details
At home assignment: Identifying Supporting Details
Day 3 Chapter 3: "Reviewing Paragraph Essentials" In class: Selecting Sources from the Internet
At home assignment: Digging Deeper reading: "Peter Singer and Animal Rights"
Week 5 Day 1 Chapter 3: "Reviewing Paragraph Essentials"
In class: Chapter 3: Tests 3 and 4, the first completed as a group, the second completed individually and turned in
At home assignment: Chapter 3: Taking Stock Test [to be turned in]
Day 2 Chapter 4: "Identifying and Learning from Organizational Patterns"
In class: Definition and Process Patterns: Explanations and Exercises
At home assignment: Sequence of Dates and Events Pattern: Explanation and Exercise (Please raise any questions you have in class.)
Day 3 Chapter 4: "Identifying and Learning from Organizational Patterns"
In class: Simple Listing Explanation and Exercise; Chapter 3: Word Check review
Please note: Word Check assignments always include the "More on Form and Meaning" fill-in-the-blank exercise as well as the matching exercise.
At home assignment: Cause and Effect; Comparison and Contrast Explanations and Exercises (Remember to jot down any questions you have and raise them at the next class.)
Week 6 Day 1 Chapter 4: "Identifying and Learning from Organizational Patterns"
In class: Classification Pattern Explanation and Exercise
At home assignment: Chapter 4: Word Check
Day 2 Chapter 5: "Understanding, Outlining, and Summarizing Longer Readings"
In class: Understanding the Differences Between Reading Paragraphs and Longer Readings; Introducing Purpose
At home assignment: Recognizing Purpose in Longer Readings
Day 3 Chapter 5: "Understanding, Outlining, and Summarizing Longer Readings"
In class: Recognizing Thesis Statements
At home assignment: Identifying Thesis Statements; Chapter 4: Taking Stock test [to be turned in]
Week 7 Day 1 Chapter 5: "Understanding, Outlining, and Summarizing Longer Readings"
In class: Adding to Outlines; Pointers on Making Outlines At home assignment: Pointers on Writing Summaries (Pay special attention to the original reading about famed fictional detective Nancy Drew along with the sample summary of that same reading.)
Day 2 Chapter 5: "Understanding, Outlining, and Summarizing Longer Readings"
In class: Recognizing an Effective Summary; Chapter 4: Word Check
At home assignment: Digging Deeper reading: "Oliver Wendell Holmes and Freedom of Speech" (You have a choice: Answer the questions or write a summary of the reading.)
Day 3 Chapter 5: "Understanding, Outlining, and Summarizing Longer Readings"
In class: Writing Summaries; Chapter 5: Word Check
At home assignment: Test 3: Recognizing Organizational Patterns
Week 8 Day 1 Review: Reviewing with Longer Readings
Day 2 Review: Reviewing with Longer Readings
Day 3 Mid-Term
Week 9 Day 1 Chapter 6: "The Role of Inferences in Comprehension and Critical Reading"
In class: Inferring Connections Between Sentences; Inferring Main Ideas in Paragraphs
At home assignment: Inferring Main Ideas in Longer Readings
Day 2 Chapter 6: "The Role of Inferences in Comprehension and Critical Reading"
In class: Inferring Supporting Details; Inferring Main Ideas in Longer Readings
At home assignment: Test 2 (Chapter 5): The Controlling Main Idea and the Author's Purpose
Day 3 Chapter 6: "The Role of Inferences in Comprehension and Critical Reading"
In class: Drawing Conclusions exercise; Word Check
At home assignment: Digging Deeper reading: "Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project"; Internet Follow-Up
Week 10 Day 1 In class: Inference Test 4 as a group; Inference Test 5 on your own, but corrected as a group
At home assignment: Inference Test 7
Day 2 Chapter 7: "Synthesizing Sources"
In class: What�s the Point of Synthesizing; How to Go About It Step by Step
At home assignment: Exercise on Synthesizing Brief Passages
Day 3 Chapter 7: "Synthesizing Sources"
In class: Writing Synthesis Statements; Word Check 2 (Chapter 6)
At home assignment: Synthesizing Longer Readings (There's a lot to go over. We will review in class; be prepared with questions.)
Week 11 Day 1 Chapter 7: "Synthesizing Sources"
In class: Synthesizing Longer Readings; Variety in Synthesis Statements
At home assignment: Recognizing Effective Synthesis Statements (item 1 only; we will do the second set of readings in class)
Day 2 Chapter 7: "Synthesizing Sources"
In class: Recognizing Effective Synthesis Statements
At home assignment: Word Check (Chapter 7)
Day 3 Chapter 7: "Synthesizing Sources"
In class: Digging Deeper readings on protecting your privacy online
At home assignment: Taking Stock (7)
Week 12 Day 1 Chapter 8: "Understanding the Difference between Fact and Opinion"
In class: Taking Stock [corrected in class]; Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
At home assignment: Test 1: Reviewing New Vocabulary (Chapter 7)
Day 2 Chapter 8: "Understanding the Difference Between Fact and Opinion"
In class: Words that Mix Fact and Opinion Together
At home assignment: Test 2: Recognizing Correct Synthesis Statements (Chapter 7)
Day 3 Chapter 8: "Understanding the Difference Between Fact and Opinion"
In class: Informed Versus Uninformed Opinions; Chapter 8 Word Check
At home assignment: Evaluating Opinions; Taking Stock (Chapter 7)
Week 13 Day 1 Chapter 8: "Understanding the Difference Between Fact and Opinion"
In class: Checking for Relevance in Longer Readings; Opinions and Textbooks
At home assignment: Detecting Textbook Opinions
Day 2 Chapter 8: "Understanding the Difference Between Fact and Opinion"
In class: Digging Deeper reading: "Encouraging Ethical Behavior in the Corporate World"
At home assignment: Test 1 Reviewing New Vocabulary (Chapter 8)
Day 3 Chapter 9: "Focusing More On Purpose and Tone"
In class: Informative and Persuasive Writing; Predicting Purpose
At home assignment: Purpose and Figurative Language; Pros and Cons in Persuasive Writing
Week 14 Day 1 Chapter 9: "Focusing More on Purpose and Tone"
In class: Identifying an Author�s Purpose, items 1 and 2; Tone and Purpose
At home assignment: Finish "Identifying an Author's Purpose"
Day 2 CChapter 9: "Focusing More on Purpose and Tone"
In class: Check Your Understanding: Rewriting for Tone
At home assignment: Recognizing Tone
Day 3 Chapter 9: "Focusing More on Purpose and Tone"
In class: Considering and Evaluating Textbook Neutrality
At home assignment: Irony and Persuasion; Identifying Tone in Persuasive Writing
Week 15 Day 1 Chapter 10: "Analyzing Arguments"
In class: Analyzing Arguments; Six Common Introductions
At home assignment: Word Check (Chapter 9); Digging Deeper reading: "Baseball Invades Japan"
Day 2 Chapter 10: "Understanding and Evaluating Arguments"
In class: Analyzing Arguments; Types of Support; Identifying Support for Opinions
At home assignment: Putting it All Together: Reading 1
Day 3 Chapter 10: "Understanding and Evaluating Arguments"
In class: Understanding Errors in Reasoning; Recognizing Errors in Reasoning
At home assignment: Chapter 9: Test 2, Identifying Purpose
Week 16 Day 1 Chapter 10: "Understanding and Evaluating Arguments"
In class: Identifying the Opposing Point of View
At home assignment: Identifying the Writer's Response to Opposition
Day 2 Chapter 10: "Understanding and Evaluating Arguments"
In class: Recognizing When Bias Become Excessive; Looking for Evidence of Excessive Bias
At home assignment: Preparing for finals: "Holden Who?"
Day 3 Chapter 10: "Understanding and Evaluating Arguments"
In class: Review for Final: Putting It All Together
At home assignment: Word Check (Chapter 10)
Review for final exam

Last change made to this page: Jan. 4, 2011

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