Learning Outcome 3:Susan Gilroy describes active reading as “thinking intensive.” I believe I didn’t do this right from the start of this class. I read our first text on the surface level and marked up words that I didn’t know, statements I didn’t understand, and thoughts that were confusing to me. Gilroy says that a student should get in the habit of asking ourselves questions, take the reading apart, and outline the text in words that make sense to you. I didn’t do any of this in the first piece I read. By the third and fourth piece, I had a good grip on these skills. I highlighted what I thought was most important/summarized that paragraph, marked areas I should refer back to later on, asked questions, and responded to the text with thoughts that I had. I also made sure I had a good environment to focus in. I would find an area with no distractions that was quiet so that I devoted all my attention to what I was reading. This allowed me to think freely and in depth. If the reading was long, I broke it up into sections, so I wouldn’t wander off with my thoughts which would happen if I spent too much time on it. The learning outcome also talks about informal reading response. This was demonstrated in the journals that we wrote. We responded on what we thought was most important from the reading, what was helpful, and what we learned. In my journals I talked a lot about how I can apply the tips I got from “They Say, I Say” to my writing. I often found myself incorporating these tips into my writing and referred back to “They Say I Say” a few times in the semester.
