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News Magazine Analysis

Chose one of the articles below (if applicable) and complete the specified task. Please specify the title of the article that you selected.

Article 1      Article 2      Article 3

GOAL and RATIONALE:

Reading news magazine articles help to familiarize students with issues that transcend the class’ lesson plans. Additionally, students are asked to reflect, critically, on the article’s content by developing critical thinking questions that are used to facilitate a class discussion from the student’s perspective.

 

OBJECTIVE: 

After reading assigned news articles, students will:

Summarize the article’s content.

 

Develop one “Level Two” Critical Thinking Question, along with the rationale for asking the question, and will answer the question.

 

Develop one “Level Three” Critical Thinking Question, along with the rationale for asking the question, and will answer the question.

 

DIRECTIONS:

After reading the assigned news article(s), you will have three tasks:

1. Provide a summarization of the article’s content. In this summary, think of the classic reporting module, in which your summarization will answer the questions of “who, what, when, where, how, and why.” In one well formed paragraph (of approximately 6 sentences, minimum), the summary explains to the reader what the article was about, using the questions above as a guide. The summary needs to provide enough information so that the paper’s reader can understand the article’s content without having read the article.

 

2. Develop one “Level Two” Critical Thinking Question related to the article’s content. (To develop such questions, see the handout at the Current Issues website). In addition to developing the question, however, you need to also provide a rationale for asking the question. In other words, explain what in the article prompted you to pose the Level Two question. Finally, you should provide an answer to your question. (In other words, to develop a question, many times people have an answer to that question in mind; from your experience in reading the article and for coming up with the Level Two question, what would be an answer that you would anticipate hearing?)

 

3. Develop one “Level Three” Critical Thinking Question relating to the article’s content. (Again, see the Current Issues website for examples and guidelines for developing the question.) Like with the second task above, you should provide a rationale for asking the question, along with the answer to your question.)


 

GRADING STANDARDS:

The assignment will be graded according to how well a student has fulfilled the assignment guidelines.

 

 

 

Assignment Component

0-1

2-3

4-5

Article Summary

The summary may be provided, but does not meet the assignment guidelines. This includes:

  • A paragraph length that is anywhere from two to three sentences.
  • Very few details from the article that leads to a poor summary. The reader may have no sense of what the article’s content includes.

 

The summary is complete in its analysis, including

  • Approximately four-to-five sentences in length
  • Provides adequate detail to summarize the main points of the article, but may lack enough specifics that leaves the readers with an incomplete picture.

 

The article summary is thorough and complete, including:

  • At least six sentences in length
  • Thoroughly summarizes the content of the article in a way that leaves few questions in the reader’s mind.

 

Level Two Question

The question, rationale, and proposed answer fall below the standards outline in the assignment guidelines, reflecting an inadequate attention to detail and a lack of effort.

  • The Level Two Question does not meet the guidelines that are specified in the “Levels of Questions” exercise.
  • The rationale may be missing, or may be insufficient in terms of development—consisting perhaps of short phrases or incomplete sentences.
  • The proposed answer lacks insight, or may lack specific links to the content.

 

The question, rationale, and proposed answer meet the standards outlined in the assignment guidelines, reflecting adequate detail.

  • The Level Two Question minimally meets the guidelines that are specified in the “Levels of Questions” exercise, found online.
  • Additionally, the rationale that is included meets standards, but warrants more explanation in order to make sense to the reader.
  • The answer provided shows insight and links to the article’s content.

 

The question, rationale, and proposed answer all clearly exceed expectations and show effort, insight, and detail.

  • The Level two Question fully meets the guidelines specified in the “Levels of Questions” exercise, found online.
  • The student provides a rationale fully explains why the question was developed, including specific references to the article’s content.
  • The answer provided shows deep insight and inquiry into the issue and has clear links to the article’s content.

 

Level Three Question

The question, rationale, and proposed answer fall below the standards outline in the assignment guidelines, reflecting an inadequate attention to detail and a lack of effort.

  • The Level Three Question does not meet the guidelines that are specified in the “Levels of Questions” exercise.
  • The rationale may be missing, or may be insufficient in terms of development—consisting perhaps of short phrases or incomplete sentences.
  • The proposed answer lacks insight, or may lack specific links to the content.

 

The question, rationale, and proposed answer meet the standards outlined in the assignment guidelines, reflecting adequate detail.

  • The Level Three Question minimally meets the guidelines that are specified in the “Levels of Questions” exercise, found online.
  • Additionally, the rationale that is included meets standards, but warrants more explanation in order to make sense to the reader.
  • The answer provided shows insight and links to the article’s content.

 

The question, rationale, and proposed answer all clearly exceed expectations and show effort, insight, and detail.

  • The Level Three Question fully meets the guidelines specified in the “Levels of Questions” exercise, found online.
  • The student provides a rationale that links to the article’s content and shows relevance.
  • The answer provided shows deep insight and inquiry into the issue and has clear links to the article’s content.