Reading notes, southwestern archaeology
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Reading is essential for learning in this course. Without a sincere commitment to the readings, you will not learn as much about Southwestern archaeology and research as you hoped and deserve. To help you learn, remember, and enhance your critical thinking skills, please answer the following questions for each of the assigned readings:
1. The main purpose of this reading is ________________.
[State as accurately as possible the author's purpose for writing the article/chapter. In other words, what motivated him/her to write the article, what did he/she hope to accomplish?]
2. The question that the author is addressing is _________________.
[Identify the key question in the mind of the author when s/he wrote the article. Authors usually write about issues they are interested in answering or understanding themselves.]
3. The most important information in this reading is (1) ________________ (2)_______________ (3)_______________ (list and then summarize what you learned).
if the purpose of the article is to persuade the reader, what is some of the evidence used to support the author's primary argument? If the purpose of the article is to inform the reader, what are at least 3 key things you learned that you want to remember? Summarize in your own words these things you learned. One sentence summaries are inadequate. List each of the things you learned, 1., 2., etc. Text such as "The author explained how the Americas were peopled" are also inadequate unless you provide a few sentences explaining what you learned about the peopling of America. Likewise, "I learned about the population levels of the Southwest" is not an adequate demonstration of the depth of your learning. You're not describing what an article is about, you're capturing your growing understanding of the Southwest. Documenting relatively specific facts without larger significance for your learning is not worth you time (e.g., "The Ushki complex is comprised of small bifacial points, bifacial knives, and stone and ivory beads..." or "The Pueblo IV period began in about 1400 CE.). For readings that contain multiple articles by different authors (e.g., those by Archaeology Southwest), you can focus on only one of the longer articles if you prefer.]
4. The main conclusions of this article are __________________.
5. If we accept the authors conclusions, what are some implications for our understanding of the Southwest and its peoples or your cross-cultural research?
[In other words, what difference does this information make in our understanding of the Southwest and its peoples? How does the argument/information change or contribute to our understanding?]
Grading Rubric: I'm not looking for "right answers" in your notes; I'm looking for evidence that you read a chapter, thought critically about it, and found some personal value in it. Your notes will receive full credit if there are thoughtful answers to each of the above questions. Your notes must be at least 1 full page in length (single or double spaced, 12 point font). Notes less than 1 full page do not demonstrate a thoughtful consideration of the reading.]
Reading Notes for each chapter should be submitted separately. For example, if Ember Chapters 1 and 2 are due on a particular day, upload 2 separate documents---each will be worth up to 1 point.
Please upload your notes in Microsoft Word format or as a pdf in Blackboard before the day/time they are due. Notes are due before class on the day they are assigned.
If you have trouble with Blackboard, print the notes out and bring them to class or email them to me before the start of class. As an issue of fairness, I cannot accept late notes.
1. The main purpose of this reading is ________________.
[State as accurately as possible the author's purpose for writing the article/chapter. In other words, what motivated him/her to write the article, what did he/she hope to accomplish?]
2. The question that the author is addressing is _________________.
[Identify the key question in the mind of the author when s/he wrote the article. Authors usually write about issues they are interested in answering or understanding themselves.]
3. The most important information in this reading is (1) ________________ (2)_______________ (3)_______________ (list and then summarize what you learned).
if the purpose of the article is to persuade the reader, what is some of the evidence used to support the author's primary argument? If the purpose of the article is to inform the reader, what are at least 3 key things you learned that you want to remember? Summarize in your own words these things you learned. One sentence summaries are inadequate. List each of the things you learned, 1., 2., etc. Text such as "The author explained how the Americas were peopled" are also inadequate unless you provide a few sentences explaining what you learned about the peopling of America. Likewise, "I learned about the population levels of the Southwest" is not an adequate demonstration of the depth of your learning. You're not describing what an article is about, you're capturing your growing understanding of the Southwest. Documenting relatively specific facts without larger significance for your learning is not worth you time (e.g., "The Ushki complex is comprised of small bifacial points, bifacial knives, and stone and ivory beads..." or "The Pueblo IV period began in about 1400 CE.). For readings that contain multiple articles by different authors (e.g., those by Archaeology Southwest), you can focus on only one of the longer articles if you prefer.]
4. The main conclusions of this article are __________________.
5. If we accept the authors conclusions, what are some implications for our understanding of the Southwest and its peoples or your cross-cultural research?
[In other words, what difference does this information make in our understanding of the Southwest and its peoples? How does the argument/information change or contribute to our understanding?]
Grading Rubric: I'm not looking for "right answers" in your notes; I'm looking for evidence that you read a chapter, thought critically about it, and found some personal value in it. Your notes will receive full credit if there are thoughtful answers to each of the above questions. Your notes must be at least 1 full page in length (single or double spaced, 12 point font). Notes less than 1 full page do not demonstrate a thoughtful consideration of the reading.]
Reading Notes for each chapter should be submitted separately. For example, if Ember Chapters 1 and 2 are due on a particular day, upload 2 separate documents---each will be worth up to 1 point.
Please upload your notes in Microsoft Word format or as a pdf in Blackboard before the day/time they are due. Notes are due before class on the day they are assigned.
If you have trouble with Blackboard, print the notes out and bring them to class or email them to me before the start of class. As an issue of fairness, I cannot accept late notes.
