I believe,like Tovani, bringing in their favorite book. A teacher will be able to tell which students are readers and which were non readers. I believe that a child can feel reading is unworthy after lack of success on high stakes testing. Tests like that take the fun out of reading causing children to back away from books as leisure. Every student has tried to find someway out of reading a text that was to hard. There is no reason that a student should ever feel ashamed because of their lack of comprehension.
It is true that students will not read what they are not interested in. Kids that don't read in class will read the sports page or the lyrics to their favorite songs. When texts are too difficult students tend to back away. We cannot assume that students can read we must engulf them into reading critically. We must show that we care about what we are reading. Thinking Aloud for example will be great because students will get an opportunity t o hear how we as teachers break down a text in our head. This may be the gateway for a struggling reader to learn how they can better comprehend their readings.
Students can even learn how to mark the text and say what triggers their thought according to Tovani. I think this would work because the students must think through the text. Though I've never thought of reading as baseball she has a point. We must think about every little thing we do in reading.
Reading may be a difficult struggle for some which is understandable and a breeze for others but everyone can have problems comprehending texts, so it is my job as a teacher to open these kids' minds up to reading and thinking in a critical way.
Justin, I agree with you that students won’t read what doesn’t interest them; nor will they read a text that is too difficult. I seem to be having both of these problems this weekend as I’m attempting to read Milton’s Paradise Lost. While I’m sure this is a great story, I don’t fully understand the language and therefore, I’m having some difficulty getting interested in it. I used this opportunity to try out the “double entry diary” that Tovani discusses in her book to see if it would help me.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed when using this strategy is that I had to s-l-o-w down my reading, which is probably a good thing since it forces me to focus on and think about each line I’m reading. But if I had to always read like this it would drive me crazy! I did like having the option to point out different things about the text: I wonder, I think, This reminds me, I am confused, etc. I found that really useful because I could question the text (which I love!) but also make connections, both of which are heavily emphasized by Tovani in the latter chapters of her book. One of the best things about slowing down and using this strategy is that I was able to pinpoint the exact line where I got confused.
Having done this exercise helped me realize that in addition to completing a close reading of the text, I was able to prepare questions that I could ask my professor for clarification. Also, by being able to show a peer or teacher the lines that were confusing me, I think it will provide me with a better opportunity to receive help in fully understanding the text. Both of these skills could make such a difference in the way a student reads and understands a text.
As I said before, I really had to slow down my normal reading pace and as much of a pain as that was (and could be if I read the whole text this way) it really did help me gain a better understanding of what I was reading. So, I guess it’s a trade-off: either read fast and don’t get it¸OR slow down and understand what you’re reading!
I still wonder, though: how would we help our students get through a difficult text like Paradise Lost (or Shakespeare or Chaucer, for that matter)? Even Tovani mentions that if done too much, reading strategies like the DED become a pain. So, how do we get our students to really read with understanding without always using a strategy?