Workshop+Critical+Reading+and+Thinking

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=Common Core Standards Statement:= Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source.

= E-portfolio = After reading through this page and exploring the links, choose a topic. Find several websites that are about that topic: three or four credible ones and one or two where information is not trustworthy. A good first pass through on this topic would be to choose a disease or medical condition because there are so many good and bad sites available. If you have done this sort of thing before and are comfortable with it, feel free to choose any topic. Briefly analyze what you have found. What make this a believable or unbelievable source? Are their aspects of the source that are credible even if the whole source is somewhat problematic? Speculate on why someone chose to create this page. This exercise can be done with any type of information source--books, magazines, etc.

=Why Critical Reading and Thinking?= The vast amount of information available on the web creates a necessity for students to learn how to read and think critically about what they find on the internet. In order for students to be able to assess the credibility of a source of information, they need:


 * Knowledge about genres of writing and web sites
 * Knowledge about the construction of arguments
 * Knowledge about critical reading and thinking

This workshop provides information that students need in all these areas.

=Genres of Writing and Websites=

Writing
Writing comes in many different forms; here is a short list of writing genres with detailed descriptions: [] This source is for people who plan to write in these genres but the questions the descriptions ask students to consider when writing are also the questions we can ask ourselves as we read.

Here is another list of genres that is more expansive than the Duke web site: [] This site does not have definitions of each genre.

The genre of writing can aid in determining how credible a source of information is. For example, a journal or a blog strongly reflects a personal stance where they may be no effort towards being "objective." One would also not expect to pick up good information from a fairy tale. Identifying the genre of writing is a first step towards assessing credibility.

Websites
Web sites also have genres. The following website is like the one you are on now. They are both wikis, which means they can be edited by more than one person (think Wikipedia). A wiki can have excellent information in it (one hopes this one is an example of a wiki with excellent information) and it can be an excellent starting point for understanding something or for getting the scope and range of a topic. [] This website offers an extensive consideration of web site genres. It was created by a group of scholars who are interested in the topic and is non-commercial.

[] Critical reading of websites from the Ithaca library.

=Types of Arguments= Knowingly or unknowingly, we construct arguments meant to persuade others of something. We might say, "vote for this candidate because all your friends will be voting for him/her" or we might say, "vote for this candidate because he/she has a specific plan for this problem we are facing." While both statements are arguments in favor of voting for a specific candidate, they offer very different reasons why.

When people understand the terms of an argument, then they can better assess the truth value of that argument and are less likely to be manipulated by it.

Understanding how people construct arguments has been of interest to scholars ever since the ancient Greeks, who called the study of argument making "rhetoric."

Types of Arguments
There are three basic types of arguments: logos, pathos, and ethos. Logos is a type of argument based on logic. Pathos is an argument based on feeling, and ethos is an argument that incorporates the ethics of the one making the argument.

A quick explanation of rhetoric along with the rhetorical analysis of some protest songs (songs meant to persuade) is here: http://literacymethods.wikispaces.com/Persuasive+Songs The webpage has links to the lyrics of the songs mentioned in the analysis. Students might even enjoy writing a protest song and thinking about how they want to construct an argument within the song.

Logical Fallacies
A key to understanding arguments is the concept of logical fallacies. The following website has extensive explanations of these fallacies. While the website information is positively ancient in internet terms (copyright 1995), these fallacies have been understood for thousands of years so the information is pertinent even if the construction of the site is Web 1.0 in design: []

Here is an "encyclopedia" of logical fallacies. It's amazing what one can find on the web: []

=Critical Reading and Thinking= In addition to understanding how genre and rhetoric shape the value of a piece of writing or a website as a source of information, it is important to understand how to read and think critically. The following resources can be used to answer a number of questions for yourself:
 * What is critical reading?
 * What is critical thinking?
 * What are some strategies for critical reading and thinking?
 * How can I apply these strategies to the resources I am looking at?
 * How can I teach students to be critical readers and thinkers?

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