"California State Universities Expository Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template "

         The past week’s document – per our required reading – was California’s Assignment template which covered California’s CCSS for English Language Arts.  While I am familiar with some aspects of the template themselves, I was caught off guard when parts of more unfamiliar topics covered areas that I didn’t become familiar with until I after I started my career as an English Literature student.  The template covers “Reading Rhetorically” and “Writing Rhetorically.”  I already assumed that the template would cover reading and writing as they pertain to language arts students; however, it was the addition of the word “Rhetorically” that surprised me.

            According to the definition in the template, “to ‘read rhetorically’ means to focus not only on what the text says but also on the purposes it serves, the intentions of the author, and the effects on the audience” (3).  While this definition serves the purposes of collegiate level writing, to use its definition to outline a template for secondary students shows how well versed and on our toes we as future educators need to be in order to affectively lead a language arts classroom.

            The template flows mechanically and justly through reading, connecting reading to writing, and writing.  A part of teaching language arts that I pride myself in is the frequent interjection of new vocabulary. 

“Key concepts provide a frame for future activities related to knowledge building and academic language, including vocabulary” (4)

Whether in lectures or in reading, building stronger vocabulary and diction can help students to understand the reading assignments and prepare them for future lessons while simultaneously opening up their minds and opinions on words they choose to use or express in their own writing. 

            I believe that this template can help future teachers, such as ourselves, to make more structured lesson plans while also allowing us to develop our own teaching strategies that will be more beneficial to our classrooms.  In the section “Reading Rhetorically” under the section “Considering the Structure of the Text,” the template outlined a few teaching strategies that were unfamiliar to me; playing an outlining game to help students identify when an introduction begins and ends, and what words or phrases help clue the students in to where key ideas and concepts start and end.  While this strategy may be favourable in some classrooms by certain teachers, I don’t believe that this way of outlining the text would be beneficial to my teaching strategy.  Although, the writers and editors made a great effort to pepper the template with helpful ideas and strategies.

            Overall, I believe that the template is a useful tool for future educators.  It was easy to read and understand, both helpful and insightful, and within the first twenty-nine pages, covered the basics of how to help structure or curb our own teaching strategies while working with CCSS.