AVID College Readiness Working with Sources Grades 11-12

Introduction AVID College Readiness is designed for student completion in the AVID elective during their junior and senior years. In this curriculum students focus on four essential skills: 1) Analyzing a Prompt or Academic Task; 2) Selective and Purpose Driven Reading, 3) Focused Note-Taking; and 4) Integrating Sources into Texts (otherwise known as ASFI) Student are encouraged to practice these skills often with different content, readings, and writing tasks.

Why? This curriculum was the result of research into the rigor required from academic reading and writing tasks across the post-secondary curriculum, tasks for which many secondary student seem to be underprepared. In the next slide you will see the testimony of a couple of students who struggled their first year of college.

Testimony: Copy and paste the following web address on your browser.

Discovering the Four Skills Using the handout “A Writing Assignment for College Freshmen” (Handout1) you will be answering questions in “Finding the Four Essential Skills: A Textual Scavenger Hunt” (Handout2) . The powerpoint will guide you through the activity and in the end review your answers. This activity can also be done with your students with a different prompt as you help them in their writing.

Analyzing a Prompt or Academic Task Analyzing the prompt is particularly important for a timed writing, a common type of essay examination in colleges and universities. A writing prompt tells students what to do and think about when they write. As you analyze the prompt think of the following questions: Where is the prompt? Is it only in one place? What does the prompt tell you to do? What is missing from the prompt that you need to know to complete this assignments?

Analyzing a Prompt or Academic Task As you read through and identify the prompt on Handout 1, complete the following sentence in Handout 2 under Essential Skill1: As a writer I need to…

Selective and Purpose-Driven Reading Using readings from sources is important to good academic writing. What sources does this assignment tell you to read and integrate into your text? What are you to read selectively for? Keep in mind that word “text” can refer to anything that is written, not only a textbook. Sometimes text even refers to a picture, video, or another type of visual. In all cases, these “texts” are used as sources for the assignment students are writing.

Selective and Purpose-Driven Reading After reading Handout 1 determine what sources need to be research to complete this prompt. In Handout 2 complete the following question in Essential Skill2: As a reader, I need to…

Focused Note-Taking When you begin to take notes for a writing task or an exam, remind students to consider what approach will help organize their work noting the… audience problem causes of the problem possible solutions (often created based on the research you have gathered)

Focused Note-Taking Take a look at Handout 1. Does this assignment tell you how to take notes? What kinds? If notes are not mentioned, what do you think you should take notes on? When should you take notes? Complete the following sentence in Handout 2 in Essential Skill3: I need to take notes on…when…

Integrating Sources into Texts Using sources in your own academic writing will be very important in many college classes. What does the assignment tell you about how you should use sources when you write your papers? Complete the following sentence in Handout 2 Essential Skill4: To provide authority for the claim I plan to make, I need to…

Review: Scavenger Hunt Essential Skill1: Analyzing a Prompt. As a writer, I need to… Introduce the problem/issue. Discuss the persona of each writer. Discuss the claims and evidence in each text. Talk about the strategies the writer use. Compare and contrast the presentation of the issues in two texts with what the interviewee says. Conclude with comments on the issue.

Review Scavenger Hunt Essential Skill2: Selective and Purpose-Driven Reading. As a reader, I need to: Identify the “persona” of the authors. Find the elements of the argument: the claim and evidence. Think, as I read, about how the authors can be compared or contrasted. Identify the devices, or strategies, used by the authors.

Review Scavenger Hunt Essential Skill3: Focused Note-Taking. When responding to this prompt, I need to take notes on … when… Where the “persona” of the writer(s) is shown in the reading(s). Where the claim and evidence appear in each text. (I may need to paraphrase the claim.) The “story” of the person I interview. The opinion of the person I interview about the issue that has been selected.

Review Scavenger Hunt Essential Skill4: Integrating Sources into Texts. To provide authority for the claim I plan to make, I need to… Correctly cite my sources through direct quotation (particularly of the person interviewed), paraphrase or summary. Analyze or synthesize the three sources when I compare and contrast them.

Final Thoughts For each of the skills listed in this presentation there are many activities and graphic organizers that would be helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to obtain any or are looking for ideas.

Follow Up Questions 1. What did you learn? 2. Can this knowledge be applied to your classroom? 3. Did you find this information useful or relevant? 4. Do you have any follow up questions or comments?

Contact information Christal Buckley Phone: 5528 cbuckley@yumaed.org