Academic Resource Center

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Reading Support

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Reading Support Contact Info

Reading Support Coordinator

Joseph "Jay" Spencer

Joseph.Spencer@ucr.edu

Office No. (951) 827-4385

Remote No. (951) 335-0923

'21 Spring Appointment Times

Monday 9:00 
Tuesday

11:00, 2:00,

4:00
Wednesday 2:00, 4:00
Thursday 4:00
Friday 10:00, 11:00

* See Google form to the right for requesting other days and times.

Reading Support

 or let us say; "reading," is more than recognizing and saying the words on a page or screen.  What we do when we read is complex; we apply knowledge of sounds, letters, grammar, content, disciplinary practices, and much more.  College readers also consider who texts are written for, when the texts were written, and the purpose of specific texts.  To explore these considerations we offer one to one consultations, focused reading workshops, and vetted resources and strategies on our webpage.

Reading Support services can assist students from most subject areas--we encourage reading support in foreign language courses be directed to language tutors and/or instructors.  The goal for reading support is to unpack reading practices essential to reading for understanding.  If you would like to make an appointment with our professional staff member, please see our appointment system, Accudemia, or use the form  below under "Reading: Resources & Strategies." 

  • 1 to 1 Reading Consultations:
    • Can target specific reading practices
    • "Close" read and discuss assigned readings
    • Address any of the workshop topics
  • Reading Workshops:
    • Address specific kinds of texts (ex. research articles and review articles)
    • Close reading practices
    • Reading and understanding grammar

Our Reading services also consist of support for faculty and courses. These services may consist of focused workshops and/or presentations for students and are meant to be a complement to the course instruction.  Faculty may also refer individual students to our services.  We encourage faculty to email Jay Spencer at Joseph.Spencer@ucr.edu to begin discussion and planning. 

Reading: Resources & Strategies

These resources and strategies in the following sections are selected to help clarify and develop college reading practices. Feel free to email Jay Spencer at Joseph.Spencer@ucr.edu for additional help with reading practices and enhancing comprehension of selected readings.

Reading Workshops

The following Workshops will be scheduled for Spring 2021. They will be held via Zoom. Please register through Accudemia to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Adjusting Reading Practices

This 30 minute session will look closer at common reading strategies and student responses to reading assigned texts. We will look at using strategies for specific reading situations that increase reading engagement. A self assessment of reading practices will also be available. Feel free to take this assessment prior to the workshop: https://forms.gle/MfCM7p6BU7Q4mzEE6

Dates Offered:

Tuesday, April 13, 2021, 3:00 to 3:30

Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 3:00 to 3:30

Reading STEM Articles 

This 30 minute workshop will address the common organization of "original research articles." We will be looking at pre selected STEM and behavioral science articles. Feel free to bring your own article as we will be looking at the purpose of specific sections. We will also be looking at the difference between an "original research article" and a "review article."

Dates Offered:

Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 11:00 to 11:30

Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 11:00 to 11:30

    Tuesday,  May 11,  2021, 3:00 to 3:30

Sample Articles below:

Two sample research articles (Samples will be analyzed during the workshop.)

  1. Computer Science Research Article: 
  2. Psychopathology Research Article

Two sample literature review articles (Samples will be analyzed during the workshop.)

  1. Periodic Limb Movement During Sleep REVIEW ARTICLE 
  2. Computational Biology REVIEW ARTICLE

Reading Writing Prompts

This 30 minute workshop will focus on reading and annotating writing assignment and final assignment prompts. We will address language that (1) contextualizes/situates the assignment, (2) directive verbs, and (3) how to clarify expectations for the assignment based on the prompt and writing situation. Attendees should feel free to come with question, as there will be time at the end of the workshop to discuss specific concerns. 

Dates Offered:

Wednesday,  May 12, 2021, 11:00 to 11:30

Wednesday,  May 19, 2021, 11:00 to 11:30

 

"Metacognitive reading" workshops are not scheduled this Spring quarter; however, they are available by request.

Feel free to use this reading inventory/self assessment to gauge what you might want to work on in terms of reading.

 

Reading Grammar: Prepositions

This 30 minute workshops will address functions of prepositions (on, in, at, to) and the relationship these words create between nouns. (EXAMPLE:  The instructor sat on the desk. vs. The instructor sat in the desk.)

Dates Offered:

Tuesday, May 18, 2021, 3:00 to 3:30

 

All workshops will be held via Zoom. To receive the Zoom link, please complete the following steps:

  1. Click on the blue Accudemia logo above or on the ARC's main webpage: https://arc.ucr.edu/
  2. Log on to Accudemia. Use your SID as both the User ID and the password.
  3. Click on "New Appointment"
  4. For Service, choose "Reading Support"
  5. For Activity, search for "Reading Workshop" and choose the date you want to attend.
  6. NOTE: You will have to use the "Prev" and "Next" buttons or the calendar icon to select the date. 

You will automatically receive a link to the workshop in your UCR email.

Click the titles to the left to see lists of reading topics and dates. 

Reading for Understanding: 

Intro to Close Reading

This 30 minute workshop is designed to assess the reading strategies that students are using in their courses and to identify specific expectations that instructors/professors have regarding "close reading" strategies. 

Understanding Point of View Popularized Science Articles

This 30 minute workshop will look at the role of the author in reporting research that was originally communicated to a specialized field/audience and how the author establishes credibility for the ideas presented. We will also look at how the author manages the complexity of original research articles for a less specialized audience. Articles will be used from Scientific American and Science Daily.

Navigating STEM Review Articles

This 30 minute workshop will address the organization of STEM and behavioral science review articles. We will observe topic flow and the purpose of specific sections. Feel free to bring your own article as we will be looking at the purpose of specific sections in breakout rooms.

Navigating STEM Research Articles

This 30 minute workshop will address the common organization of "original research articles." We will be looking at various STEM and behavioral science articles. Feel free to bring your own article as we will be looking at the purpose of specific sections in breakout rooms.

Metacognitive Reading

Inquiry Focused Reading 

This 30 minute workshop will address ways to identify questions that guide students' reading and/or text selection. We will also look at questioning ideas from texts and making connections to other sources. Attendees should feel free to bring texts that they are working in their classes. There will be time to use reading strategies with these or sample texts. 

 

Reading Grammatically

 

Identifying  Points of View in Assigned Readings:  Understanding First Person, Second Person, and Third Person Perspectives"

Available by request.

NOTE We will look at how these pronouns affect points of view. 

First person pronouns:  I, me, mine, my, we, our, ours
Second person pronouns: you, your, yours
Third person pronouns:  he, she, they, her, him, them, hers, his, their, theirs