Here is a list of pre-reading, Reading and Writing Club, and post-reading activities included in each chapter.

Before class activities

Active reading and watching assigned materials ahead of class is an effective strategy for academic success.

The weekly readings are listed for each chapter.

Some of the readings are found in your textbooks. Access the other written materials (e.g., academic articles) in Brightspace via the Tools menu. The Library Course Reserves team has cleared these materials for copyright and there is no additional fee to access them.

There are three pre-reading activities in each chapter.

Key questions to ask while actively reading and watching

Use the questions to uncover and think about some of the key ideas explored in each week and module. Identify any questions you may have after finishing your reading and watching.

  “Pile of words”: group and label key concepts

The purpose of this activity is to introduce you to the key concepts covered in each week.

Some of these ideas may already be familiar to you and some may not. You are encouraged to look up any of the ideas that are new to you in order to complete the exercise.

By sorting these ideas into piles of similar words, you will begin to differentiate the concepts, make sense of the differences as well as similarities, and connect what you will be learning each week with what you already know.

Example

In a class on Canadian politics in the 1960s, you might start with a pile of words that include the following terms.

Step 1: Sort the words into two groups of similar terms.

Step 2: Name your piles. For example, you might have divided these words into two piles with the following titles:

Pile 1: Political parties

• • Liberal Party
  • Conservative Party
  • New Democratic Party

Pile 2:  Social movements

• • “War on poverty”
  • Postal workers strike
  • Royal Commission on the Status of Women
  • Bilingualism
  • Multiculturalism
  • Quiet Revolution

You might find it relatively easy to sort these concepts because you already know something about political parties in Canada and Canadian social movements. However, you might have to search for some of the ideas to decide how to assign the concepts to each pile.

You will become more aware of these “big ideas” before class when you do this sorting. As a result, you will be better prepared to engage in the class discussions and activities.

   Predict a learning outcome

You will be prompted to identify what you think you will be learning each week. Prediction is a powerful tool for preparing your brain to recognize and think about new ideas.

Fill in the blanks to answer the following questions:

• What do you think you will learn this week?
• What will you be able to accomplish after this week?

Reading & Writing Club activities

First half of term (before Reading Week)

In the first half of the term, one class is for reviewing and discussing the assigned readings.

Share the results of your pre-class activities in class and respond to additional prompts provided by your instructor(s).

Second half of term (after Reading Week)

In the second half of the term, one class is for reviewing and discussing the assigned readings as well as for writing activities.

Continue to share the results of your pre-class activities in class and respond to additional discussion prompts provided by your instructor(s).

After class activities

A “close” or purposeful reading and watching of the assigned materials is critical to acquiring a deep understanding and knowledge of the course content.

Do some of this close reading and watching before class. In addition, do close reading after class, when you have been introduced to and discussed the core content.

Regardless of when you do your close reading and watching, you will learn the material more fully by taking the time to read thoroughly and by annotating the text, i.e., highlighting key concepts, taking notes from each reading and video, and summarizing the author’s main points.

Here are three strategies for re-reading weekly materials after class:

• Annotate each reading for key ideas. For videos, you can annotate the transcript.
• Summarize the author’s key ideas from each reading.
• Where appropriate, highlight this information:
  • purpose of the reading;
  • scope (the extent of the study);
  • thesis (e.g., main argument[s]);
  • outcome(s) and conclusion.

Respond to a statement about the readings:

• Do you agree or disagree with the statement and why?
• Did this reading provide any inspiration or insights you can use in this or any of your other classes? If yes, what is the inspiration and/or what are your insights?