Torvani Pt. 3

The strategies in the appendix sections are very helpful in how and which strategy I’ll decide to put to use. It’s difficult for me to choose what strategy I’d use more often than others because I believe that each strategy works best under certain circumstances; therefore, I’d base my decision on the learning activity my students are engaged in. However, I will provide ideas of how I’d some of these strategies:

-Double-Entry Diaries: Looking at the model, I feel like it’d be a dread to teach my students this type of strategy. However, under circumstances when we’ll read difficult texts such as Dante’s Inferno, I’d take the time to expose my students to this strategy because it’ll definitely help boost their confidence while reading such a difficult text. I see this strategy as a confidence booster because students tend to get frustrated throughout a difficult text, causing themselves to overlook what they can easily understand. Instead of being overwhelmed by their thoughts of “I can’t understand this!” and the negative impact such thoughts have while reading further, they can maintain confidence by paying close attention to what they can understand if asked to record their understandings. I’m referring specifically to the double-entry diary in which the right column begins with “This reminds me of…”

-Comprehension Constructors: While this would not be a “favorite” strategy of mine, it’s one I’m most likely to use more often than others because it’s very flexible and it’s not so tedious. I feel it is less tedious because the questions ask for answers that encourage free-thinking, rather than requiring students to think one way such as “This reminds me of…” line by line by line. An example of the comprehension constructor is “What’s your thinking?” In class, when I model this strategy to students, I’m “thinking aloud.” This strategy, “Think Aloud,” is mentioned in Nancie Atwell’s book in which she specifically model poetry writing by writing a poem of her and her mother (or her daughter, I can’t remember). In my opinion, comprehension constructors are most flexible because I can’t think of one activity that I feel this strategy will be applicable. However, as I stated earlier, different strategies work best in different activities so a comprehension constructor would not always be the best strategy to use in certain activities. J

My question is not as Tovani puts it, "Why teach strategies?"I wonder why not teach strategies?

These strategies are very helpful. I think that the double entry diaries may work well in the classroom.Students would be able to compare the text to their own thought.Is a student really reaching their full potential as a reader if they don't question the text. See, i feel that the point is to make it so that students question the text that they are reading. Maybe this strategy would work best with a tough read in a classroom and hopefully students would be able to question the reading as they should.I don't know could this be a strategy that is worked up to.For example, if we start by doing this with an article maybe we could work our students up to books. I think that my favorite strategy was the comprehension constructor. Does it remind you girls of those old reading worksheets from grade school, with the questions at the end of the story? If reading can be drawn from the reader wouldnt things work well, because students can form their own opinion much like with the double entry diaries. II think these tools would work great for building comprehension. However, are these thing too tedious?Would students rebel?

Inquiry #5 The Strategies

After looking over all the strategies in Tovani’s book, and having done one myself, I have decided that using the strategies in the classroom can be beneficial. I could definitely see myself using strategies such as the double- entry diary or the highlighting exercise when introducing the class to a difficult text (i. e. something not in modern English). Because they are so involved, I definitely wouldn’t do it too frequently; however, I think that once the students have read a text once or twice using one of these methods, they will become more aware as they read. Therefore, they’ll probably begin to mentally pick out the same things they would have written while using the strategy. I also like the comprehension constructor for a poem. I think that could be useful when students are exposed to difficult poetry. I think a lot of students struggle with poetry, and overall, don’t “get” it. I don’t know why, but I’m thinking of Emily Dickinson’s poems, which a lot of people don’t understand. Perhaps using a strategy such as this one would help a student understand it a bit more. I think the best thing about the strategies Tovani offers us is that they give the students the opportunity to try to comprehend for themselves. They attempt to read it first, without the teacher feeding them the right answers. I think that helps build independent readers. J

I did skim through Atwell’s book (at least the chapters we’ve read) and I really couldn’t find any mention of her using any particular strategies. I know that in her reading workshop everyone is reading something different, and students can choose to abandon books they don’t like. I also know that she really encourages the social aspect of learning. Maybe her students address their confusion or issues with a text directly with her during one of her conferences. Perhaps they write about it in their journals, and Atwell or a friend can respond with some clarification. I know Atwell is always nudging her students to go deeper in their reading, but does she actually teach her students any strategies?

Part 1 of Torvani’s I Read It, but I Don’t Get It was very interesting to read! Throughout the reading, I marked at many points which I felt related to me personally, and not just as a future teacher. Torvani wrote this book with teachers in mind, yet I find that it’s been very helpful towards me as a reader. In the first two parts of her book, Torvani includes realistic classroom scenarios, personal experience and reflections, and her thoughts of what we should and should not do as a teacher, student, and reader. I was very into the beginning of Part 1 in which she talks about “fake reading.” How she and the students who fake-read is definitely something I relate to. I’ve been fake reading all throughout the school years. Being so pressed for time and thinking that the only purpose for completing reading assignments is to earn a good grade, I spent all my time just decoding words. It was not until I learned about reading strategies in EDCI 3136 this semester that I now know how to read between and beyond the lines. And especially after started reading Torvani, I take reading assignments “more seriously.” Honestly, I’d be so ashamed to admit these details about myself but since Torvani says she didn’t really learn how to read until she was in her thirties, I’m no longer ashamed because I know I’m not the only one. To this day, I’ve always wondered when I was ever going to learn how to REALLY read. Sometimes I find myself panicking because I’m in my fourth year of college, studying to become an English teacher, yet I still don’t have confidence and knowledge of how to read and write on my own. How can I teach someone else how to master reading and writing if I’m nowhere near a master myself in that field? As I read Torvani and learn more out of the 3202 and 3136 coursework, I KNOW that my personal skills as a reader and writer will develop dramatically, along with my skills of how to teach it. Now before I exit this blog, I’ll propose one question from the text that left me wondering (I’ll mention my other questions in class in a few minutes LOL). In Torvani’s section about Real-World Monitoring, I was shocked at Dan’s question that we (teachers) are supposed to know when the students do and don’t understand. I always thought teachers were supposed to, and apparently, as I now understand, that is not the case at all. However, I was left thinking if we are not responsible for ALL or SOME of the students’ reading cognitively, then how and when do we assume if it’s poor judgment on their part or our part? How do we know when to assign retests or curves when the majority of our class fails a test? Does it depend on the content? Does it depend on the grade levels? Does it depend on whether or not we have time to give them another chance, when it’s either our or their fault? How do we know?
Andrea

I agree with Kristen about never having struggled with reading. However, I can relate to fake reading. II too am guilty of occasionally browsing through Sparknotes. Yet, I can understand how a child would resort to this because of a lack of comprehension.

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.

Inquiry Ch. 1-4, Tovani

Reading the first few chapters of Tovani’s book really opened my eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever really struggled with reading (unless it’s something very theoretical) so I wasn’t aware of the extent of use of “avoidance strategies” and “fake reading” of which Tovani speaks. I mean, I know that students use the Internet and tools such as Sparknotes to get information about whatever text they don’t want to read; but, I just thought it was because they didn’t want to read it (and I’m sure this is true in some cases), but I didn’t realize that some students really just don’t know how to read with comprehension. The first paragraph on page 9 really hit me. In this passage, Tovani explains how good readers often take for granted being able to read well. Struggling readers can’t finish a text, can’t enjoy a good story, etc. That was something that had never crossed my mind, and actually makes me really sad to think about it.

I appreciate that Tovani is so honest with her students, actually sharing her struggles with reading and admitting that she doesn’t always understand everything in a book. I also like how she uses Atwell’s approach of modeling reading to her students. This reminds me that I definitely need to become more reflective about my own reading process. Tovani and Atwell both seem so in tune with their thinking while they are reading; I never think about what I’m thinking when I’m reading. But, in order to become a better model of reading I suppose I need to tune in to my own thoughts. I wonder how long something like that takes to do? After reading one book? Or years of paying attention?

Tovani is so right when she discusses teachers just feeding the students the necessary information about a text. It’s no wonder students can actually pass a course and never read the book. From what I’ve seen in my field site, it seems the teacher only wants the students to know the necessary information on which they will be tested. My field site teacher also seems to be in the habit of summarizing everything for the students, so now that I think about it, why should they read the material if someone is going to tell them all about it anyway? It’s no wonder that students are accustomed to having teachers being responsible for their learning.

After Tovani’s introduction into the book, she starts discussing various reading strategies that can be used in the classroom to help students gain better understanding of a text. I like this part because it’s very specific and tells us exactly how to use the strategies. Though it seems tedious, I really like the idea of having the students highlight everything in yellow or pink based on their understanding. I think that would be a great exercise from time to time to make students really think about each sentence they are reading. With all of the strategies she discusses, I wonder if her students ever read without using a certain strategy? Do they reach the point where they read without highlighting, marking, journaling? And if so, how long does that typically take?

The final thing I’ll say about this part of the text concerns teaching our subject or teaching our students. On page 39, Tovani discusses an issue she had in her classroom about whether she should just feed the students the information about the reading that they would need to know, or should she stop and focus on teaching the students how to read better. I think that’s going to be the story of our lives once we’re out there in our classrooms. I’m glad she chose to stop and make certain her students would learn strategies to help them with the text, even if it made her fall behind on her lesson plans. In the end, I know it’s worth it, and I hope I remember to do the same thing.

Chapter 10

Atwell speaks of taking off the "top of your head" as a teacher. Invite the students into your personal archives of writing. Allow the student to learn from your mistakes. A student should not be expected to naturally understand how to be great writers. Atwell makes students take notice of mistakes in their writing or her writing, as to make them understand that they must be able to identisfy features of writing as well as the mistakes that we all make. Atwell mentions writing bad on purpose in order to sharpen students' skills as writers and readers. Most impressively, Atwell does not use bad examples of student writing in class. Manny times, students will become discouraged as teachers do this. Though many times teachers hide the names on a bad paper, you can still see the writer squirm as the teacher deconstructs their paper. Students should write things that come naturally to them. If students write naturally the brainstorming process as well as the weriting process will come together because the student wants to talk about the subject matter. As Atwell says, "I had to write pages like this (in regards to a corrected draft) before I got it out of my system- to write badly as a prelude to, perhaps, writing well." The same goes for students, so writing is the only way to get better as a writer.