LESSON 5. Critical Reading As Looking For Ways of Thinking
LESSON 5. Critical Reading As Looking For Ways of Thinking
LESSON 5. Critical Reading As Looking For Ways of Thinking
to complex in order for him/her to eventually realize that a text is always connected to
human experiences. In effect, one is guided on how to see things both in the micro
and macro levels. To attain this, the reader needs to be equipped with ways for
LESSON 5 for Ways of Thinking thinking.
WEEK 5 To become a critical reader, this book offers tips/techniques of becoming a critical
thinker:
Most Essential Learning Competencies:
Explains critical reading as looking for ways of thinking. EN11/12RWS-IIIij-5 Some Techniques to Develop
Identifies claims explicitly or implicitly made in a written text. EN11/12RWS-IIIij-6
A. Thinking
Identifies the context in which a text was developed. EN11/12RWS-IVac-7
It is the act of constructing and deconstructing ideas in both spoken and
written form based on a given context.
KNOWLEDGE ENRICHMENT
1. Check and analyze the title. Read further how it is developed and/or
USING CRITICAL READING FOR THINKING AND REASONING argued in the succeeding statement.
2. Identify the aim of the text. Make initial arguments about its context.
Some authorities share their piece of knowledge about the significance of reading and 3. Skim the reading material and give focus on the entire body. Identify
ways how to develop thinking and reasoning. what might have caused certain issues/situations and offer feasible
Baraceros (2005) expressed that critical reading is necessary for the students to know solutions.
how to examine critically what they see, feel and read to be able to make good 4. Make some relevant associations of the text to your life. In the course of
judgement or decisions for the welfare of their countrymen. making connections, the reader may either be sympathetic or
apathetic depending on the experiences he/she may have had which
In addition, Anthony Shadid, journalist, 2012 articulated that to non-critical readers, are relevant to the text.
many texts offer the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. To the critical 5. Evaluate the reading material. Ascertain if the entire text calls for a
reader, any single text provides but one portrayal of the facts, one individual's "take" debate and eventually come up with a sound decision/judgement.
on the subject.
B. Reasoning
Likewise, Kurland 2010 noted that to non -critical readers, texts provide facts. Readers
It is the process of expressing ideas and opinions as well as justifying a stand
gain knowledge by memorizing the statements within a text. Critical readers thus
based on prior and existing knowledge and experiences needed to arrive at a
recognize not only what a text says, but also how that text portrays the subject matter.
decision
They recognize the various ways in which each and every text is the unique creation
of a unique author. According to him, there are three steps or modes of analysis which
1. Dare to read every day. Citing relevant ideas of experts and authorities
are reflected in three types of reading and discussion:
in reading materials definitely help strengthen one's stance of an issue.
What a text says – restatement (talks about the same topic as the original text) 2. Learn to focus to the main ideas (explicit or implied) and supporting
details mentioned in the argument.
What a text does – description (discusses aspects of discussion itself) 3. Examine the pros and cons of your argument/resolution. This will help
What a text means – interpretation (analyzes the text and asserts a meaning for the you weave the flow of your thoughts presented.
text as a whole) 4. Organize your thoughts. Arrange ideas either in chronological order or
by emphasis (general to specific or vice versa.) Once organized, oral or
This essential skill in reading leads to the development of critical thinking by reasoning written expression becomes meaningful.
and vice-versa. As a matter of fact it is how one progresses his/her thinking from simple
5. Note points for improvement. After having justified an issue, recheck It involves anticipation. To anticipate the audience's agreement means we
your stand based on your power to convince the reader/audience. look hopefully to it, but we are anxious that they may not give it.
Moreover, practice, practice so that you become conscious of A claim thus forwards a statement that we worry the audience will not agree
becoming better every time you reason out. to, but wish them to agree to.
If we are certain that an audience will agree, it is not really a claim. If we are certain
they will not, it also is not a claim. A claim works with contingency - a question of
Below is an evaluation guide to help develop your critical reading ability.
whether the audience will agree or not.
As you peruse any reading material, you need to check its content, objectivity and Types of Claims
relevance in order for you to be able to connect and find its significance to your life.
a. Claim of Fact: A claim asserts some empirical truth.
Elements for Evaluation Explanation Guide Something that can be determined by careful observation of past,
Content This is the substance of the text.
present,
Are the input/ideas present comprehensive– covering the
Generally, the truth of the assertion will be determined by events. But
breadth and depth of the text? Is it comprehensible?
the speaker will offer information or explanation that predicts or
As a whole, is it appealing to the readers?
Objectivity This is the stand of the author about an issue/article. characterizes the events.
Are facts presented? Does it present both sides of the Claims of fact are those we think about rightly as being true or false. Of
argument? Does the author possess ethical and moral course, sometimes we cannot prove something true or false, but we
consideration in his/ her article? have to say "How likely is it that it is true?" But the reasons we give are
Significance This is the intention, the entire meaning and the value of the reasons we believe the statement is true or false.
the issue/article to the reader’s life. Argument usually turns on strength of evidence presented as reason for
Can the reader readily connect the issues to his/her life? arguer's belief in the claim.
Is it open for interaction? How is it valuable to the reader?
Examples:
IDENTIFYING EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT CLAIM IN A TEXT
1. Research studies are conducted to improve human condition.
del Gandio J. 2008, said that a claim is an arguable statement– an idea that a rhetor 2. Climate Change has already become an issue in the country.
(that is, a speaker or writer) asks an audience to accept. A claim is an opinion, idea, 3. Success of teaching depends upon the creativity of the
or assertion. Here are three different claims: 'I think we should have universal health teacher.
care.' 'I believe the government is corrupt.' 'We need a revolution.' These claims make
sense, but they need to be teased out and backed up with evidence and reasoning." b. Claim of Judgment or Value: A claim asserts a judgment of some sort.
Campbell and Huxman define a claim as an assertion. They stress how it is an inference Look for key words that are a matter of judgment rather than fact:
beyond the facts. In strategic discourse, a claim is a statement we make to an good, well, kind, useful, desirable, etc.
audience with an anticipation that they should agree with it. Speakers provide the reasoning for their judgment, but ultimately, it is
assent to the reasons rather than comparison to fact that determines
It is a statement. A claim is discourse. the agreement to the claim.
It involves a speaker's awareness of an audience. The very idea of a claim A claim is based on things we like or dislike. Thus it deals with goals, with
involves a wish about an audience. things we find attractive.
It deals with a search for agreement. The wish is that the audience will agree Your feel for the argument by judgment or value has to be different
with the statement. than that of fact. Disagreements over values are not "wrong" in the
sense that they are inaccurate. Rather, they turn on what is important
to us and how the things that are important to us come to bear on a allude to shared experiences to foster a social bond or an insider reference to exclude
situation. others. Participation in on-line chat exchanges engages early-adolescents in using
Argument usually turns on whether the underlying value of the claim is intertextual links to foster social interaction (Beach & Lundell, 1997; Lewis & Fabos,
accepted as a public good. 2000).
This is accomplished by creating "links" between information. These links are provided
Examples:
so that readers may "jump" to further information about a specific topic being
1. Fetal tissue should be banned in any research undertaking.
discussed (which may have more links, leading each reader off into a different
2. The government should continue to offer scholarship programs
direction). For instance, if you are reading an article about marine mammal
especially to the poor but bright students.
bioacoustics, you may be interested in seeing a picture of a dolphin. Or you may want
3. Gender equality needs to be strengthened in the academe.
to hear the sound it makes(~80K). Or you may even be interested in seeing what a
marine mammal sound "looks like" in a spectrogram.
USING CONTEXT IN TEXT DEVELOPMENT You might even want to find out more about sounds made by other animals in the sea,
thus leading you on a completely different, detailed path. As you can see by these
Intertextuality, as defined by Michael Riffaterre, (2010) "depends on [a system of] examples, this medium is not limited simply to text. It can incorporate pictures, sound,
limitations in our freedom of choice, of exclusions, since it is by renouncing even video. So it presents a multimedia approach to gaining information--hypermedia.
incompatible associations within the text that we come to identify in the intertext their
compatible counterparts." He further states that this intertextuality is the complete Moreover, hypertext is used because in general, humans learn better associatively.
opposite of hypertextuality because the former builds a "structured network" of limits That is, we are better able to figure out material if we are allowed to move at our own
that will keep the reader on track (towards the "correct" interpretation), the latter is a pace, investigating that which interests us, and stimulating more senses through
"loose web of free association." multimedia.
Intertextuality may also involve connections built on social meanings in which There are three main pedagogical benefits provided by the incorporation of hypertext
participants make intertextual links in order to build social relationships or connections in the composition class:
(Bloome & Egan-Robertson, 1993). For example, participants in conversation may
1. Hypertext promotes dialogue.
2. Hypertext can be constructed as a collaborative medium, and it makes
possible forms of collaboration that emphasize the social construction of
meaning.
3. Hypertext can be used in nearly any computer-facilitated classroom.
Reference:
Abao, E., Bacus, R., & Dayagbil, F. (2016). Critical Reading and Writing for the Senior High School.
CHARACTER ENHANCEMENT
REFLECTION
Why is critical reading as a way of thinking and reasoning significant especially
in this era of technology?