Think Aloud - WordPress

							Think Aloud
Directions

       Read the passage provided and write out how you as a mature reader would go

through and encode the terminology. Make sure to make a prediction based on the title

of the passage, paint a picture, make an analogy, verbalize a confusing point, and use 2

fix-up strategies to analyze the text.



       As I begin to read this passage I notice that the heading is in a larger font,

about size 24. It is also italicized and is a light blue color. Judging by previous

chapters, I know that this means it is a sub-heading to the larger chapter. The

heading reads: “Consumers Have Rights and Responsibilities.” The first word,

consumers, is a term we have learned previously in class meaning the user of a

product or service. When a person buys a meal at a restaurant he/she is consuming,

the base word to consumer, that meal. The next section of the heading is: have

rights. What does it mean to have rights? Right can mean a variety of things. If I am

correct I am right, a right is also a freedom given to us as Americans in our

constitution. In this scenario, since this chapter is on the legal area of economics, we

can assume the term “have rights” is associated with the legal terminology. We have

the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to an attorney. Just as

the previous are examples of constitutional rights, consumers have similar rights

when purchasing a good or service. The last part of the heading is the term

responsibilities. Responsibilities are things expected of us as citizens of our society.

In class, I have responsibilities to show up on time, be prepared, and do my

homework. At home my responsibilities may be to do wash the dishes, or clean my
room. When added to the term consumer I can expect to learn about what is

expected of me as a buyer in the marketplace. After breaking down the terms in the

heading of this selection, I predict that the following passage will be about the legal

freedoms a buyer has in the marketplace. It will also look into the responsibilities a

consumer has in order to achieve those rights. Prediction: buyers have laws

protecting them from harm from businesses, but they are also expected to perform

certain actions to gain those rights. (Step 1: making a prediction)



       The phrase decisions Americans face, as consumer, are increasingly complex

is similar in a lot of ways to how a man acts when he wakes up. Whether it be what

products to buy to what cereal to eat in the morning, we are always contemplating

and making decisions. The key part of the previous phrase is the fact that decisions

are getting increasingly complex. Take the cereal example. When a person first

wakes up, he contemplates if he is hungry or not. If he is, he decides to eat some

breakfast. This is an easy decision to make for the boy. In the business world, a

similar situation would be a consumer deciding he needs to go grocery shopping

because he is out of food. Now that the boy has decided that he is hungry and wants

some breakfast, another decision needs to be made; what does he want for

breakfast? Cereal? Pancakes? Compare that decision to the one the man will need

to make once he decides he is going to go get groceries; what food do I need to buy?

Milk? Bread? Now the decisions are getting a little more complex. It is not just a

yes or no question, but it is more open ended. Finally, the boy may decide that he

wants a bowl of cereal, now he needs to determine what cereal he is going eat. Here
the decision gets even more complex because a normal pantry holds several

different options of cereal. At the grocery store, the same hold true, what type of

milk? There is whole milk, skim milk, 1%, etc… (Step 3: share an analogy)



       The phrase many Americans are greatly concerned with the safety and

reliability of the products and services they use paints a vivid picture in my head of

what almost any household looks like growing up. With the holidays coming up,

parents are on the lookout for gifts to buy their sons and daughters, but parents are

not going to buy just anything for their children. Picture a mom looking to buy her

seven-year-old son a video game; the mother feels the boy should not be witnessing

gory images at his young age so when picking a game to buy she is going to take into

account that a shooting game may not be a good choice. This is her being worried

about the safety of the product she will be purchasing and ultimately be consuming.

Another example, a man looking to buy a car more than likely is not going to just

find the one the looks the coolest and buy it. Is the car going to still be running a

year from now? Does the car get good gas mileage? Have there been any previous

problems with the car? These are all questions that need to be answered before the

gentleman can make an informed decision. This example shows an interest in a

products reliability. The car may look amazing, but if its inner parts are damaged or

no good, the car is also of no worth to a future consumer. (Step 2: Describe the

picture you are forming)
       In the last sentence, a new term is introduced to us. Consumerism is typed in

bold letters, which by reading previous sections of the book we know this is a

vocabulary term, and the definition will be in the glossary in the back of the book.

With this new term and confusing point, this gives us a great opportunity to use a

fix-up strategy to understand this term better for future references. The term

consumer is within the word, so we know that it has something to do with the end

user of a product or service. (Step 4: verbalize a confusing point)



       The phrase to educate buyers about the purchases they make seems a bit

confusing. Why do buyers need to be educated? By making an educated guess we

would be using a fix-up strategy. To me this means that buyers need to know what

they are buying and it is their job to do the research and become educated to make

the best possible purchase they can. (Step 5: demonstrate a fix-up strategy)



       To demand better and safer products from manufacturers is the final phrase

of this passage. It is a confusing statement by itself so it is important that we use a

fix-up strategy to try and decipher what it means. Looking back at the whole

sentence and reading it slowly we realize that this phrase is in the definition of

consumerism. It is conjunction with the fact the buyers need to be educated about

the purchases they make. When we put all of these together we learn that

consumerism is when consumers are knowledgeable about the products being sold,

and with their knowledge manufacturers need to create quality products that are

also safe. (Step 5: demonstrate a fix-up strategy)
Consumers Have Rights and Responsibilities

       Today the decisions Americans face, as consumers, are increasingly complex.

Many Americans are greatly concerned with the safety and reliability of the

products and services they use. Consumerism is a movement to educate buyers

about the purchases they make and to demand better and safer products from

manufacturers.