Purpose
A Reaction Guide is used in conjunction with an Anticipation Guide to redirect student thinking and have students reflect on their intial perspectives regarding statements about particular themes in the text. Students are provided with the opportunity to reexamine their selections that were originally stated with the Anticipation Guide after finishing the text; they are able to change their stance on a given statement, provided they support their thinking with evidence from the text. Whether they choose to refute their original claim or choose to continue that line of thinking, students are required to think critically about the statement itself and provide reasoning for their perspective.
Procedures
After students read the text, they are asked to "react" to the same questions that were initially asked in the Anticipation Guide prior to beginning the reading. They must use evidence found in the text to support their answers to the statements or questions, regardless of whether they wish to keep the answers they started with or wish to change their responses.
Example
The links below contain an example Reaction Guide that could be used after the students have read the George Orwell novel 1984. The statements provided refer to major themes found in the novel and center on topics that students may find controversial and easily debatable.With this activity, students were required to find outside sources to relate back to a particular statement that they chose to follow throughout the novel. Students had to find an article that pertained to the statement, which would enforce their agreement or disagreement with the statement.
1984_reaction_guide.doc | |
File Size: | 28 kb |
File Type: | doc |
1984_reaction_guide.rtf | |
File Size: | 42 kb |
File Type: | rtf |
References: Central High School, 2012