Assignment: Reading Response Us and Them

For this assignment, practice creating a Reading Response essay with David Sedaris’s Us and Them.

Directions

  1. Review the grading rubric as listed on this page.
  2. Review the Writing a Reading Response page.
  3. Print and annotate David Sedaris’s Us and Them.
  4. Open a new Google Doc, title it with your First Name, Last Name, and “Reading Response with Us and Them.”
  5. Set the Google Doc share permissions to “Anyone with the link.”
  6. Practice writing a reading response with Sedaris’s Us and Them in your Google Doc:
    In the first paragraph of your reading response, mention the title, author, and main thesis of Us and Them. Then connect to the Text by answering:

    • What does the text have to do with you, personally, and with your life (past, present or future)?
    • How much does the text agree or clash with your view of the world, and what you consider right and wrong?
    • What did you learn, and how much were your views and opinions challenged or changed by this text, if at all?
    • How well does the text address things that you, personally, care about and consider important to the world?
    • What can you praise about the text? What problems did you have with it?
    • How well did you enjoy the text (or not) as entertainment or as a work of art?
    • To sum up, what is your overall reaction to the text?
  7. Copy and paste the final version of your essay to a new WordPress blog post.
  8. Submit the URL of your blog to your instructor.

Grading

Points: 80

Submitting: a website URL

Reading Response Us and Them KEEP
Criteria Ratings Points
First line includes title, author, main thesis Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No reference to text
0 pts
10 pts
Connect text to you and life Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No connection
0 pts
10 pts
Connect text to view of world/right and wrong Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No connection
0 pts
10 pts
Learned from text Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No connection
0 pts
10 pts
Connect text to what is important to the world Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No connection
0 pts
10 pts
Praise/Problems with text Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No connection
0 pts
10 pts
Enjoy/Not Enjoy Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No connection
0 pts
10 pts
Overall reaction Proficient
10 pts
Developing
7 pts
No connection
0 pts
10 pts
Analyze a text for purpose and intended meaning Exceeds expectations
0 pts
Meets expectations
0 pts
Does not meet expectations
0 pts
0 pts
Create a Reader Response to text. Exceeds expectations
0 pts
Meets expectations
0 pts
Does not meet expectations
0 pts
0 pts
TOTAL POINTS    80 pts