Blueprint for
Reading
Students and teachers are
grounded in the substantive, thematic, and literary world of the selection,
so that they do not
enter it as strangers.
Author Biography sketches the author’s life and work.
Background
Bytes provides useful and interesting information that may be
drawn from biography, history, science, geography or other appropriate
disciplines.
Into the
Selection helps students think about the thematic focus of the
piece. What is its raison d’être? What drives the action and the
characters? What compels the author to write? What is the author trying to
tell us? Into the Selection helps students distinguish
between topic and theme. Here, students may also be asked to think about,
predict, look for, make notes, or find the answer to a question, as they
read the selection.
Focusing on . .
. considers a specific literary component that is defined for
the student. How has the author used the literary component? How does the
literary component influence subject, theme, style, and genre? In Focusing,
the students see how writing comes to be!
The Word Bank
that opens each selection lists the new vocabulary. Because we know that
each individual's vocabulary grows in many different ways, we discuss
several related words and their etymology. This enables students to 'own'
their new words, and gives them information that will assist them any time
they come across unfamiliar words.
Selection Pages
Original artwork and
illustrations are a Mosdos Press hallmark. Innovative graphics, design,
color, and layout make Mosdos Press books appealing to students and
teachers. Our artists and graphic designers work hand-in-hand with writers,
editors, teacher consultants, and administrators, to produce work that is
beautiful, intriguing, and in keeping with our values.
Word Banks define new vocabulary words at the bottom of each
page, as they appear in the selection. Consistent pronunciation guide.
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Studying the
Selection
Studying the
Selection is a comprehensive examination of the selection
based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Knowledge: comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Every selection is followed by
questions and exercises that challenge students to think, reread, write,
and rewrite. This is not mere recollection of facts.
Students will practice applying newly acquired knowledge. Skills are
developed for careful analysis, judicious interpretation, and astute
evaluation.
First Impressions asks for a quick response to the selection,
or to a question posed in Into the Selection. Students
are prompted for their immediate reaction.
Focusing on the Literary
Component consists of an introductory paragraph that reviews
the literary component. The three exercises that follow give students
practice with the component and enable them to learn by doing.
Creating and Writing provides
several exercises that ask for:
- A thematic response to the piece
- A creative writing assignment
- An activity, such as making a collage or diorama; producing a play or
venturing into the real world, for example, to visit an elderly
person.
Quick Review asks several
simple questions requiring factual recall.
In-depth Thinking presents
four interpretive questions that require comparison or contrast, analysis,
or inference.
Drawing Conclusions asks two
final questions for which students must speculate, evaluate, criticize,
hypothesize, draw a conclusion, or make a judgment. Students may be asked
to apply the circumstances of the selection to real life situations.
Homeschoolers
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