As educators, we know that teaching students to write effectively about texts is a foundational skill. For many, the RACE strategy (Restate, Answer, Cite Evidence, Explain) has been a reliable tool for getting students started. It provides a clear, structured approach that helps students organize their thoughts, especially those who may struggle with the basics of writing.
However, as we push our students to engage with more complex texts and ideas, we often find that the RACE strategy falls short. It may work well for younger or less experienced writers, but when we ask students to think critically and explore deeper meaning in literature or non-fiction, the formula can feel limiting.
The Limitations of RACE
1. Oversimplification:
RACE’s formulaic nature can lead to repetitive, shallow writing. Students follow the rigid structure, restating the question and offering a basic answer, but it doesn’t encourage them to dive deeper into analysis or construct more complex arguments. Advanced students need room to explore and synthesize ideas, not just summarize them.
2. Limited Critical Thinking:
The “Explain” step in RACE often doesn’t push students far enough. It may prompt a basic explanation of evidence but rarely requires students to fully justify their thinking or connect that evidence to larger themes. Without encouraging deeper reflection, students’ responses can lack depth and fail to engage with the more nuanced aspects of a text.
3. Not Suitable for Complex Texts:
When students are faced with intricate literary works or argumentative texts, RACE can quickly become inadequate. The structure doesn’t allow for a thorough exploration of multiple perspectives, consideration of counterarguments, or in-depth interpretation of themes. Engaging with more complex texts requires a strategy that can handle the layers of meaning and ambiguity often found in advanced reading.
4. Lack of Originality:
A set formula can stifle creativity. When students are locked into following a specific pattern, it leaves little room for them to develop their voice or approach. Over time, writing becomes more about ticking the boxes than expressing original, personal insights—something essential to cultivating confident, expressive writers.
A More Advanced Alternative: Reading Squares
If you’re looking for a strategy that nurtures deeper engagement with texts and fosters critical thinking, Reading Squares offers a dynamic and versatile alternative. This method not only helps students analyze texts on multiple levels but also encourages creativity and originality.
Here’s how it works:
Visual and Structured:
Students divide a page into four squares, each representing a different approach to interacting with the text: Think, Feel, Visualize, and Connect. This structure encourages them to engage with the material from multiple angles, leading to a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the text.
Encourages Depth and Nuance:
Unlike RACE, which focuses on restating and explaining, Reading Squares prompts students to reflect on their thoughts, emotions, visualizations, and connections to other texts or real-world events. This strategy fosters deeper analysis and pushes students to move beyond surface-level observations.
Adaptable for Complex Texts:
Reading Squares is highly flexible, allowing students to engage with more advanced readings. Whether they’re analyzing complex themes, discussing multiple perspectives, or unpacking the subtleties of character motivations, this strategy encourages the type of critical thinking that advanced texts require.
Fosters Originality and Voice:
Because Reading Squares offers a broad framework, students have more freedom to explore the text in ways that resonate with them. They’re invited to develop their unique voice and style, which leads to more engaging, authentic writing. The flexibility of the squares helps students take ownership of their interpretations, resulting in writing that feels less formulaic and more personal.
How Reading Squares Builds Advanced Writing Skills
Each square in this strategy plays a critical role in helping students interact with the text and prepare for more sophisticated writing. Here’s a breakdown of how each part works:
- Think:
- Engagement: This square asks students to reflect on what the text makes them think. “When I read ‘___,’ it made me think…” encourages students to analyze and connect the text to their prior knowledge or ideas they’ve encountered elsewhere.
- Impact on Writing: This critical thinking process helps students generate original ideas and construct well-supported claims, building the foundation for deeper, evidence-based writing.
- Feel:
- Engagement: The “Feel” square focuses on students’ emotional responses to the text. “When I read ‘___,’ it made me feel…” encourages students to consider how the text evokes emotions and why certain passages resonate with them.
- Impact on Writing: Recognizing and analyzing their emotional reactions enables students to add depth to their writing, enhancing tone and voice while building empathy with the material.
- Visualize:
- Engagement: Students are prompted to create mental images of the text. “When I read ‘___,’ it made me picture…” encourages them to engage with descriptive language and sensory details.
- Impact on Writing: This practice strengthens students’ ability to write with vivid imagery and greater detail, improving both narrative and descriptive writing skills.
- Connect:
- Engagement: The “Connect” square prompts students to relate the text to other works or life experiences. “This reminds me of…” encourages them to think critically about the text’s relevance in a broader context.
- Impact on Writing: Making connections helps students craft nuanced arguments and draw on analogies, improving their ability to support complex, original analyses in their writing.
Preparing Students for Advanced Writing
By engaging with the text through the lenses of thinking, feeling, visualizing, and connecting, students are encouraged to explore it more fully and thoughtfully. Each square builds key skills—critical thinking, emotional insight, descriptive clarity, and the ability to relate texts to broader themes or experiences—essential for higher-level writing.
When it’s time to write, students who have used Reading Squares will have a well-rounded understanding of the text. Instead of relying on a formula, they’ll be able to produce nuanced essays that reflect original thought, critical analysis, and a deep engagement with the material.
Final Thoughts
As educators, our goal is to equip students with the skills they need to engage critically with texts and express their ideas in writing. Reading Squares is a dynamic, engaging strategy that elevates student writing by fostering deep analysis, creativity, and originality. By offering students this alternative to RACE, you’re preparing them to thrive not just in the classroom, but as lifelong thinkers and writers.
Interested in learning more about using Reading Squares in your classroom? Reach out, and let’s collaborate to inspire and elevate student learning together through PLCs or PD Workshops, Training, and Modeling.
Teaching with Temprano is an Educational Consulting company whose sole purpose is to collaborate, educate, inspire, and provide real-world ELA strategies and lessons you could use tomorrow with your students. Districts that wish to hire me for PLCs or PD workshops, email me at teachingwithtemprano@gmail.com
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