Phase 1 Sequence
- Provide scientific background for the climate change issue;
- Introduce question-at-issue: How should we respond to climate change?
- Assess our starting point: Explore prior knowledge--
- How do we answer that question at the beginning of the course?
- What kinds of information do we need to answer the question?
- How would/do we gather information to answer such significant questions?
- Introduce Academic Inquiry strategies (as a framework for Phase 1);
- Focus on close reading:
- Read IPCC report responses in Prentice-Hall Guide for College Writers (PHG): to collect thesis of each article (its answer to the question),
- Generate questions for further inquiry,
- Read first minor text:
- Expand from reading-for-thesis to reading-for-argument and summary writing;
- Assess what we've learned and pose more questions;
- Focus on critical reading: reading rhetorically
- Introduce rhetorical triangle (this will link to graphic in appendix) & conversation metaphor (this will link to graphic in appendix),
- Read next 2 minor texts, for purpose, audience and context, focusing on writers' strategies for focus, development, organization, coherence--
- Audience: how do we respond and why? What effect does the article have? Can we identify features that caused the effect?
- Purpose: what is the writer's intention? What does he do to try to reach that? How well does his purpose fit with ours as readers?
- Context: Where was this published? What kind of information does it use and how was it gathered? How does our knowledge of context influence our reading?
- Focus on critical reading: evaluating information--
- Develop criteria for quality information (timeliness, accuracy, credibility/authority, accessibility, objectivity),
- Re-read articles to assess effectiveness in responding to question-at-issue,
- Identify areas of agreement/disagreement, questions to answer, and/or other points for further inquiry and conversation;
- Peruse supplemental readings that address one or more of these areas;
- Students identify author with whom they would like to discuss one of the supplemental readings;
- Students write a letter to the chosen author, recommending that they read the chosen supplemental text and engaging in a conversation on it.
