Reading Quizzes
"Of all the things which man can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful, and worthy are the things we call books.”
Thomas Carlyle’s quotation above makes a big claim, and it is my hope that you agree with the spirit of his statement. In addition to the life-changing power of books, the benefits of reading are well documented: it raises your “emotional intelligence,” strengthens neural pathways, and improves critical thinking.* It is also enjoyable and empowering to be able to read literature from a range of time periods
and forms. For all these reasons, reading will be central to all we do in class this year.
But the reading I’ll ask you to do will not always be easy. When I assign reading homework, I will be asking you to disconnect from
electronic distractions and focus on a text for 30, 40, or 60 minutes, depending on the class. You may find yourself with a text from
another culture or in a totally unfamiliar form. I will help you by providing background for each title, but ultimately it will come down to
you, the book, and your notes as you look up unfamiliar words and reread passages or even pages when you get lost. In short, it can be hard work.
Reading quizzes are designed to reward you for that hard work. Just as you might get points for completing a set of math problems, you should get points for your thoughtful time and effort with texts. At five points each, they might not seem like much, but by the end of the grading period they can weigh as heavily as a paper. I am eager to see you get ALL of these points.
Here’s how they work:
9th grade: I will give you the quiz to take home, but please do the reading and take notes before you look at it. After your reading,
I’d like you to use your notes alone to try to take the quiz. If you need more help, you may refer back to the text.
11th grade: When a text is particularly difficult or unfamiliar, I will give you a take-home reading quiz (see this described above).
However, for the most part I will expect you to bring your reading notes to class and be prepared for a quiz.
11th grade AP: Please take reading notes to use for your in-class quizzes.
Other notes:
The Payoff:
Eventually you will find that Homer’s epic similes and Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter are simply natural components of great stories. In addition, working through texts will increase your confidence exponentially. You will read more efficiently and accurately in the future.
* Here are links that cite compelling studies of the benefits of reading:
http://www.csun.edu/~krowlands/Content/Academic_Resources/Reading/Useful%20Articles/Cunningham-What%20Reading%20Does%20for%20the%20Mind.pdf
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com//2013/10/03/i-know-how-youre-feeling-i-read-chekhov/
http://www.scoop.it/t/adlit/p/4046877172/2015/07/01/martha-nussbaum-the-value-of-the-humanities
http://mic.com/articles/99408/science-has-great-news-for-people-who-read-actual-books
http://ideas.time.com/2013/06/03/why-we-should-read-literature/
"Of all the things which man can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful, and worthy are the things we call books.”
Thomas Carlyle’s quotation above makes a big claim, and it is my hope that you agree with the spirit of his statement. In addition to the life-changing power of books, the benefits of reading are well documented: it raises your “emotional intelligence,” strengthens neural pathways, and improves critical thinking.* It is also enjoyable and empowering to be able to read literature from a range of time periods
and forms. For all these reasons, reading will be central to all we do in class this year.
But the reading I’ll ask you to do will not always be easy. When I assign reading homework, I will be asking you to disconnect from
electronic distractions and focus on a text for 30, 40, or 60 minutes, depending on the class. You may find yourself with a text from
another culture or in a totally unfamiliar form. I will help you by providing background for each title, but ultimately it will come down to
you, the book, and your notes as you look up unfamiliar words and reread passages or even pages when you get lost. In short, it can be hard work.
Reading quizzes are designed to reward you for that hard work. Just as you might get points for completing a set of math problems, you should get points for your thoughtful time and effort with texts. At five points each, they might not seem like much, but by the end of the grading period they can weigh as heavily as a paper. I am eager to see you get ALL of these points.
Here’s how they work:
9th grade: I will give you the quiz to take home, but please do the reading and take notes before you look at it. After your reading,
I’d like you to use your notes alone to try to take the quiz. If you need more help, you may refer back to the text.
11th grade: When a text is particularly difficult or unfamiliar, I will give you a take-home reading quiz (see this described above).
However, for the most part I will expect you to bring your reading notes to class and be prepared for a quiz.
11th grade AP: Please take reading notes to use for your in-class quizzes.
Other notes:
- Reading quizzes are worth 5 points each.
- Your handwriting must be clear.
- Your prose should be carefully written. All punctuation needs to be properly placed.
- Your quizzes need to be accompanied with your reading notes.
- Your signature is your honor pledge that you took the allotted time to complete the assignment.
The Payoff:
Eventually you will find that Homer’s epic similes and Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter are simply natural components of great stories. In addition, working through texts will increase your confidence exponentially. You will read more efficiently and accurately in the future.
* Here are links that cite compelling studies of the benefits of reading:
http://www.csun.edu/~krowlands/Content/Academic_Resources/Reading/Useful%20Articles/Cunningham-What%20Reading%20Does%20for%20the%20Mind.pdf
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com//2013/10/03/i-know-how-youre-feeling-i-read-chekhov/
http://www.scoop.it/t/adlit/p/4046877172/2015/07/01/martha-nussbaum-the-value-of-the-humanities
http://mic.com/articles/99408/science-has-great-news-for-people-who-read-actual-books
http://ideas.time.com/2013/06/03/why-we-should-read-literature/