React, Reflect, and Respond Instructions (3R’s)

Content in boxes refers to “Angels,” by B. H. Fairchild

React – Your gut reaction, feelings, initial ideas, events, words that stand out from the
article/poem/text.

Requirement = 3-5 sentences

Example: My initial reaction to this poem is that I love the energy and overall
positive feeling that comes from it, though I’m uncertain as to what the author
is specifically trying to convey. On the surface there seems a clear message
about dodging death and having “four flaming angels on the hood” protecting
Elliot, but the casual attitude in the last stanza negates the wonder of the
earlier ones.

Reflect – Connect to your own experience: can be text to self, text to text, or text to world.

Requirement = 1 paragraph (5-10 sentences)

Example: (Text to self). A few times in my life I have been in car accidents, and
while I have never before felt protected by divine entities, I have always walked
away (fortunately) from these accidents with a greater appreciation for life and
the fragility of “this mortal coil.” The persona in the poem used his incident to
catapult him into a career, a new passion, whereas I have used mine to
cultivate a more cautious approach to driving and even an increased distaste
for all things automotive. It’s hard to say which is the better response.

Response: Your conclusions about the text, what they are trying to teach you, or the
moral/lessons learned after reading the text. Include evidence from the text (quotes) to support
your conclusions. Finish this with a few questions you’ll use to guide class discussion.

Requirement = 1 paragraph (5-10 sentences)

Example: As mentioned above, the lesson I think the author intended we learn
from this poem is that we can regard the survival of life-threatening moments
as miracles, perhaps divinely orchestrated. As Elliot “gave his life to poetry”
after his brush with death, we might do something similar, perhaps without the
risk. Safer events, perhaps when we are lucky, or maybe even when struck by
the singular beauty of a moment, like seeing a perfect sunset, could similarly
serve that transgressive function that reawakens us to life and possibilities.

1. Share with us a moment from your life, dramatic or not, yet distinct, that
altered your idea of how to be in this world.