Here is another in our Great Ideas From Readers series.
If you’ve used The Times for teaching and learning and would like to see your idea in our blog, write in and tell us what you’ve done.
Today, we feature two ideas from Rita Tamalavage, who teaches at Nativity B.V.M. High School in Pottsville, Pa. Both ideas involve analyzing and evaluating informational text, something many teachers are thinking about as states ramp up for full implementation of the Common Core Standards.
Teacher: Rita Tamalavage
Institution: Nativity B.V.M., Pottsville, Pa.
Grade Level of Students: Secondary (ages 14-18)
Evaluating Arguments Idea:
Students categorize the claims and arguments of other students, by using writing from The Learning Network’s Student Opinion feature, then chart those claims to help prepare for a debate or panel discussion on the topic.
Why We Chose It: This is the first time we’ve heard of a reader using our Student Opinion feature for a purpose beyond having her students post their own thoughts. We like how Ms. Tamalavage has students look at other students’ writing, sort and evaluate it, use it for their own research, then respond to what they find.
What Ms. Tamalavage Did and Why, in Her Own Words
Students select a Student Opinion question from 163 Questions to Write or Talk About that begins with “Do,” “Should” or “Is.” They make sure the question they choose is open-ended.
Next, they write the number assigned to the question and write out the question. Then they answer the question for themselves.
They then turn their attention to the writing of students who have responded to the question. They try to find at least one response that answers the question as:
- Clearly Yes
- Yes . . . but
- Clearly No
- No . . . but
- It Really Doesn’t Matter
For each category, they write cues from the comment as proof.
Each student presents these points of view, along with his or her own, to the class, whose members actively participate in the crossfire of debate or discussion. Everyone then writes his or her own response to one or more of the 163 questions.
For my students, this was a highly anticipated part of the activity, and they were delighted to see their comments appear on The Learning Network, and sometimes in the “Comments of the Moment” on the right-hand side of the blog.
Would you like to see the handout Ms. Tamalavage gave her students? She has allowed us to share this PDF.
Of course, we publish a freshStudent Opinion question every school day. Each leads students to a related Times resource, and all are still open to comment by anyone from 13 to 25 years of age.
Checking Sources Idea:
Why We Chose It: Having students think critically about the sources behind the news they get everywhere from social media to television to word of mouth makes them more informed and active, and less likely to accept unreliable sources at face value. It also helps students appreciate the role of journalism and newspapers in sorting fact from opinion or rumor.
What Ms. Tamalavage Did and Why, in Her Own Words
Cuban Cigar Factories as Inspiration:
While reading “Andoshen, PA” by Darryl Ponicsan, I read a description of a “reader” in a cigar factory who, during the 1950s, read The New York Times to workers to save them from the boredom of a repetitive 7-to-5 job.
The cigar rollers asked him questions after each reading. He looked up answers to spontaneous questions, like the price of a car. He settled arguments on politics, current affairs and law by checking facts from the newspaper. The workers were required to pay him 50 cents per day, which they dropped into a shopping bag.
I was so surprised to find that some Cuban cigar factories still do this — a practice started in the 1860s. And the cigar factory reader there still settles arguments by checking facts in the newspaper.
I used the cigar-factory story as a warm-up, then used the following activity to evaluate the reliability of sources.
Students had been assigned a research-based essay in which they needed to identify a controversial incident that raised public concern about a matter involving food. They identified Paula Deen’s diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes and the proposed ban on oversize sodas in New York City as incidents that were reported in various media and connected to frightening diabetes statistics.
For homework, students researched the topics to find two different types of sources of information, then brought the information to class. An assigned fact-checker for each group listed the figures and percentages for each and noted discrepancies. To think about how reliable each source was, students took into account factors such as the author’s background and expertise; his or her Associated Press affiliation (if any); whether the URLs ended in “.org” or “.gov,“ rather than “.com”; to what extent estimates were presented rather than actual figures; et cetera.
A “recording secretary” for the group then prepared an informal chart from the list and recorded the group’s decision for the entries as “reliable” or “not reliable.” Since in-class writing is done in a workshopping class, reliable sources could then be incorporated into the essays in progress.
Note: In my class, I had computers available during this class time to find more reliable information if needed, or to extend the lesson.
On a related note, I recently had my Advanced Placement students work in groups to check for dubious facts used in various class presentations, debates, panels and A.P. synthesis essays. A designated fact-checker from each group lists the questionable points during the presentation. Online research using The New York Times Web site or print edition can be a follow-up.