Reading respond journal

Little Nation pp.109-145

Purpose: This assignment provides practice in summarizing and responding to reading as well as identifying your personal connections to the text. Practicing these skills regularly will help you develop strategies for managing reading assignments in your other classes. The reading process section of this assignment will help you develop your approach to understanding text and the strategies you use to manage reading challenges.

Skills: Written Communication, Problem-Solving

Before you write your RRJ, read carefully, taking notes on the text as you go. RRJs should include the following:

1. A brief summary of the story “Little Nation” (150 words or 5-8 sentences) including major events, characters, and important information about setting (place and time).

2. Your response to the reading (150 words or 5-8 sentences) including your opinions about and reaction to the assigned story.   This section is a place to think deeply about the book and the emotions and complex ideas it brings up for you.

3. Identifying our metacognitive reading strategies are important to learning. In this section, please provide an explanation of your reading process (150 words or 5-8 sentences). Discuss your process of comprehending the text: what did you do to make sense of the reading? What vocabulary or comprehension challenges did you encounter? How did you overcome them? Where, when and how did you read? How did those choices support or not support your reading?

4. A Connection to the role of police, media, schools, etc. in our neighborhoods. In this section of Little Nation, the author, Alejandro Morales, develops a strong critique of the role of powerful governmental and societal structures in causing and reinforcing destructive forces including gang and gun violence, the oppression of girls and women, and drug addiction. Pay attention to local TV, radio, social or print media for several days. Do you see any connections between the kinds of stories that you see in the media now and what is described in Little Nation? What similarities or differences do you notice? What reactions do you have to what you have observed? (150 words or 5-8 sentences)