SHS – Reading and Writing Skills No.

5
Student Name: _______________________ Grade and Section: ________________________
Teacher: ____________________________ Date Submitted: ___________________________

I. LEARNING SKILLS

A. Most Essential Learning Competency: Explain critical reading as a form of reasoning

B. Objectives
1. Define critical reading and state its importance
2. Explain critical reading as looking for ways of thinking and reasoning

II. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPT

Critical Reading as a Form of Reasoning

The various reading experiences you may have had has brought you to encounter
different texts that require the application of certain skills appropriate to either gaining
information or entertainment. This is a way to becoming a critical reader.
Critical reading means that a reader applies certain processes, models, questions,
and theories that result in enhanced clarity and comprehension. There is more involved, both
in effort and understanding, in a critical reading than in a mere “skimming” of the text. If a
reader “skims” the text, superficial characteristics and information are as far as the reader
goes. A critical reading gets at “deep structure”, that is, logic, consistency, tone,
organization, and a number of other important very important sounding terms.

Critical reading provides high reflective skills which allow you to stand back and look
at the text from different perspectives. It lends you the ability to see and evaluate how a text
presents arguments. Without this skill, a reader may run the risk of simply memorizing texts
and accepting them even if they are flawed, biased, and subjective.

What does it take to be a critical reader?

1. Prepare to be part of the writer’s audience. After all, authors design texts for specific
audiences, and becoming a member of the target audience makes it easier to get at the
author’s purpose. Learn about the author, the history of the author and the text, the author’s
anticipated audience; read instructions and notes.
“In the end, we will remember
not the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends.”
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

2. Prepare to read with an open mind. Critical readers seek knowledge; they do not "rewrite"
a work to suit their own personalities. Your task as an enlightened critical reader is to read
what is on the page, giving the writer a fair chance to develop ideas and allowing yourself to
reflect thoughtfully, objectively, on the text.

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 3. Consider the title. This may seem obvious, but the title may provide clues to the writer's
attitude, goals, personal viewpoint, or approach.
4. Read slowly. Again, this appears obvious, but it is a factor in a "close reading." By
slowing down, you will make more connections within the text.
5. Use the dictionary and other appropriate reference works. If there is a word in the text
that is not clear or difficult to define in context: look it up. Every word is important, and if part
of the text is thick with technical terms, it is doubly important to know how the author is using
them.
6. Make notes. Jot down marginal notes, underline and highlight, write down ideas in a
notebook, do whatever works for your own personal taste. Note for yourself the main ideas,
the thesis, the author's main points to support the theory. Writing while reading aids your
memory in many ways, especially by making a link that is unclear in the text concrete in your
own writing.
7. Keep a reading journal. In addition to note-taking, it is often helpful to regularly record
your responses and thoughts in a more permanent place that is yours to consult. By
developing a habit of reading and writing in conjunction, both skills will improve. Critical
reading involves using logical and rhetorical skills. Identifying the author's thesis is a good
place to start, but to grasp how the author intends to support is a difficult task. More often
than not, an author will make a claim (most commonly in the form of the thesis) and support
it in the body of the text. The support for the author's claim is in the evidence provided to
suggest that the author's intended argument is sound, or reasonably acceptable. What ties
these two together is a series of logical links that convinces the reader of the coherence of
the author's argument: this is the warrant. If the author's premise is not supportable, a critical
reading will uncover the lapses in the text that show it to be unsound.

Guide Questions for Critical Reading

1. What is the writer’s perspective? Does he/she write from an outsider’s or insider’s
perspectives.
2. What relevant information is excluded from the text?
3. Do you agree with the writer?
4. Is the writer objective and accurate?
5. How would you describe the tone of the writer?
6. Does the text challenge your own values and beliefs?
7. Does the text contain fallacies? What are those?
8. Are there assumptions made by the writer?
9. Does the writer oversimplify complex ideas?
10. Does the writer use reasonable generalizations and inferences?

How to Improve Your Critical Reading Skills

A large part of developing critical reading skills involves learning how to ask
questions about a piece of writing. For instance, someone teaching critical reading skills to a
group of students asks them to read a newspaper story about a candidate for a political
office. A student who is working on developing critical reading skills creates questions as he
or she reads. For instance, the student may ask if the author has any motives for writing the
article. If so, the author may be presenting biased information about the candidate. Another
question may concern the validity of the facts within the article. Can they be verified by other
sources? After answering these questions and others, a student is able to determine
whether the newspaper story is factual as well as objective. A student who is developing
critical reading skills learns not to automatically accept the information in piece of writing. A

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student who is trying to improve critical reading skills looks at whether the conclusions in a
written piece are logical. Does the author put forth facts to support his or her theories? A
piece of writing that is full of illogical ideas shouldn’t hold much credibility with readers. A
student who is working on improving critical reading skills must learn how to determine
whether the information in a piece of writing is logical. Oftentimes, one of the main points of
an instructor who is teaching critical reading skills involves researching the credibility of an
author. Someone teaching critical reading skills may ask students to look at some other
writing done by the author. Does he or she appear to have a bias about a particular subject?
The process of improving critical reading skills requires that students question the motives of
an author. After determining an author’s level of objectivity, a student who is trying to
improve critical reading skills can look at the substance of the writing.

III. ACTIVITIES

A. PRACTICE TASKS

Practice Task 1: C or N?

Identify whether the following statements indicate critical reading or not. Write
C if it involves critical reading and N if not on a separate sheet of paper.
___________1. I get the main idea of the article.
___________2. I skim the newspaper.
___________3. I reflect on the questions necessary for better understanding of the text.
___________4. I reflect on the possible missing information.
___________5. I research about the author of the text.

Practice Task 2: Read Me!

Read the texts carefully. Answer the question that follows. Do this on a separate
sheet of paper.

Perusing the food choices in each aisle of the grocery store can be a daunting
experience for shoppers. From peanut butter to yogurt, everything seems to come in
myriad options, including fat-free, sugar-free, and organic. Many people are aware that
organic food is grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and other
unnatural substances. What this means is that by buying organic foods, consumers are
directly supporting a healthier society and environment, in addition to their own well-
being. Food labelled organic can cost ten to forty percent more than nonorganic foods,
but understanding what organic food offers – and what it doesn’t – is key to deciding that
the benefits are worth the price. Many food shoppers opt to pay more for organic fruits
and vegetables because the label means the crops were grown without the use of
pesticides. Pesticides, by design, contains toxins, since these protect crops from
damaging elements such as rodents, insects, and invasive plant species. However,
pesticides in their concentrated form have been tied to several chronic diseases in
humans. For example, recent research has indicated a strong link between exposure to
insecticides in humans and other brain disorders such as dementia, in addition to
general cognitive problems. (adapted)

1. What is the author’s main claim or argument?

a. Paying more organic food is a wise decision.
b. Eating nonorganic foods poses too many risks to human health.

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 c. Growing organic food is better for the environment
2. Select two supporting claims that the author makes to argue that paying
more organic food is a wise decision.

a. Health risks in people have been linked to the use of pesticides and antibiotics.
b. Organic food are more likely be approved.
c. Chemical fertilizers have negative effects on the environment.

3. Which piece of evidence better supports the claim that health risks in people have been
linked to the use of pesticides and antibiotics?

a. Recent research has indicated a strong link between exposure to insecticides in

humans and other brain disorders such as dementia, in addition to general cognitive
problems.
b. Many food shoppers opt to pay more for organic fruits and vegetables because the
label means the crops were grown without the use of pesticides.
c. Food labelled organic can cost ten to forty percent more than nonorganic foods, but
understanding what organic food offers – and what it doesn’t – is key to deciding that
the benefits are worth the price.

The use of tobacco is the most destructive vice in the United States. In spite of the
widespread knowledge that using tobacco leads to serious health problems, it is still the
largest preventable cause of illness and death in the United States. Products such as
cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco come from the nicotine- rich leaves of the
tobacco plant. Nicotine is a stimulant, and its addictive properties are what make
tobacco products so habit-forming. Cigarettes alone kill 480 000 Americans annually.
Included in that statistics are the roughly 41 000 each year who die from exposure to
second-hand smoke – people who aren’t even using tobacco themselves. While it might
seem appealing to call for an abrupt halt on growing and selling tobacco, such a move
will not be a wise one. A ban on tobacco would have a devastating effect on the U.S.
economy. Recent numbers show that there are about ten thousand tobacco farms in the
United States, with Kentucky, Georgia, and North Carolina furnishing eighty percent of
the nation’s crop. Nationally, more than thirteen thousand people are employed by the
tobacco manufacturing industry. Banning tobacco could derail the lives of citizens who
rely on the farming and production of tobacco for work. And stopping the production of
tobacco would hurt more than just individual workers. The United States ranks seventh
in the world in exporting tobacco cigarettes, reaping 952 million dollars in 2016 alone.
The high taxes on tobacco sales resulted in more than eighteen million dollars in federal
revenue in the year 2015. States have their own individual tax rates on tobacco sales,
with each one garnering between tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax
revenue from tobacco sales each year. The United States simply cannot afford to
suddenly stop growing tobacco or cease the sale of tobacco products. (adapted)

4. What is the author’s main claim or argument?

a. An outright ban on tobacco in the United States is not a workable solution to the health
problems that tobacco causes.
b. Research shows that warning labels on tobacco packaging are more effective than
outlawing tobacco in the United States.
c. The United States economy would collapse if its government enacted a ban on tobacco
production and sales.

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5. Select two supporting claims that the author makes to argue that an outright ban on
tobacco in the United States is not a workable solution to the health problems that tobacco
causes.

a. It would be impractical to enforce a legal ban on tobacco.

b. The economic fallout from a tobacco ban would be substantial.
c. An individual’s right to produce, sell, and use tobacco is stated in the Constitution.

6. Select the evidence that the author provides for the following supporting claim: the
economic fallout from a tobacco ban would be substantial.

a. Due to the scarcity principle, more people would spend money on banned tobacco
products.
b. Tobacco exports account for hundreds of millions in United States revenue.
c. Education and regulation are effective tools for reducing tobacco smoking.

Practice Task 3: Playing Detective.

You are a detective trying to figure out the evidence and supporting claims of a
certain text. Analyze the following text very well and accomplish the detective’s worksheet
provided for you. Do this on a separate sheet of paper.

“Einstein: I fear the day when technology will surpass our human interaction. The world
will have a generation of idiots.” Statistics show that more than 2,000 adults by Harris Poll
finds that almost 93 percent of millennials admit to using their phones before sleeping,
nearly 80 percent in the restroom and 43 percent while stopped at a red light. Moreover,
more than half of the subjects from the age bracket 18-to-34-year-old generation use
smartphones while eating with their family, and 72 percent of all generations surveyed
believe that relationships will be less authentic in 10 years because of technology.
With the sudden popularity and high demand for smartphones, our interaction with the
people within our circles seemed to be less frequent. Teenagers who are too engrossed
browsing and scrolling the screen of their smartphones started to be oblivious of their
surroundings. Families who go out to eat at food establishments with Wi-Fi connection
pay more attention to their gadgets and surf the net than chat with each other. Millennials
interact with their phones more than anyone else, that the bonding that should be realized
in going out with friends, engaging in an intimate date with your special someone and
family time greatly suffer from each other’s apathy. With this view in mind, everyone can
surmise that technology is dehumanizing us. (adapted)

Detective’s Worksheet
Name: ______________________________________________________________

Author’s Main Claim:

___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.

Supporting Claims of the Main Claim:

1. ________________________________________________________________

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2. ________________________________________________________________

Evidence/s of the Supporting Claims:

1. ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.

As a detective, do you think the evidence fully support the claim/s? Why/why not? Answer in
one to two sentences only.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.

B. ASSESSMENT
For this activity, you will need the following materials:
1.) Editorial from a newspaper/internet
2.) Short size bond paper
3.) Crayons or coloring pens
4.) Scissors
5.) Glue

Directions:
Cut a sample editorial from a newspaper and paste it on a short bond paper.
Read and understand very well the content of the editorial.

Highlight the Main Claim of the text using a yellow crayon. For the Supporting
Claims, use a green crayon and for the Evidence, use a blue crayon.

If in any case, the above colors are not available, you may change the colors but
make sure to write the legend at the bottom part of the page.

At the back part of the bond paper, write a short reflection on the claim,
supporting claims, and evidence of the editorial read.

IV. RUBRIC FOR SCORING

(Not applicable to the tasks provided.)

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VI. REFLECTION/ COMMENTS/ SUGGESTIONS

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

VII. REFERENCES

Barrot, Jessie. Academic Reading and Writing for Senior High School. Quezon City:
C & E Publishing, Inc., 2016.

Cleveland State University. “Importance of Critical Reading.” Accessed June 26, 2020.
https://www.csuohio.edu/writing-center/critical-reading-what-critical-reading-and-why-do-
i-need-do-it.

Florida State University. “Critical Reading Activities.” Accessed June 26, 2020.
https://wr.english.fsu.edu/College-Composition/The-Inkwell/Critical-Reading-Activities.

Innovations from Leading Education Experts. “Critical Reading Skills.” Accessed June
26, 2020. https://www.edu-nova.com.

IXL Learning. “Identifying Claims.” Accessed July 20, 2020.

https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-11/trace-an-argument-set-1.
Juan Diego Academy. ”Identifying Claims.” Accessed July 20,
2020.https://www.juandiegoacademy.com/userfiles/3/Classes/281/identifying%20cl
aims.pdf?id=294.

Sandagan, Luzviminda. Reading and Writing Skills. Manila: JFS Publishing Services, 2016.

Slideshare. “Criticial Reading as Reasoning.” Accessed June 26, 2020.

https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/marykatrinebelino/critical-reading-as-reasoning.

Slideshare.net. “Critical Reading Claims.” Accessed July 21, 2020.

https://www.slideshare.net/KatrinaClaireLandich/critical-reading-claims.

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The New York Times. “Why ‘Smart’ Objects May Be a Dumb Idea. Accessed June 26, 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/opinion/zeynep-tufekci-why-smart-objects-may-be-
a-dumb-idea.html.

Prepared by:

ROCHELLE F. DIONEDA – Teacher

Barcelona National High School
SDO – Sorsogon Province

REMEGIA Q. DAYANGHIRANG – Teacher

National High School
SDO – Sorsogon Province

AILEEN E. PAREDES – Teacher III

Bulan National High School
SDO – Sorsogon Province

Quality Assured by:

MARICEL M. DINEROS
Education Program Supervisor
SDO – Sorsogon Province

Layout Artist:

LEMUEL F. DE RAMON – Teacher II

Bulusan National High School
SDO – Sorsogon Province

RO_Reading_and_Writing_Grade 11_Q3_LP 2