When I was younger, I thought speed was more important than comprehension. My teachers would tell me to read a passage and I would read as fast as I could. I had no idea what I was reading. I just knew that I had to keep moving until I reached the end. After I finished reading, my teachers would ask me comprehension questions that I never quite knew the answer to. I would sit there and try to think back to the passage hoping that the answer would come to me. Long story short, it never did. To this day, I still remember feeling frustrated. How could I not remember what I had just read a few seconds ago? Was I really that dumb? It wasn't until one of my teachers told me to slow down that I actually began to comprehend what I was reading. I began to concentrate on the overall message instead of simply reciting the words before me.
As I was reading this book, I thought back to moments like this. It still amazes me that I once struggled to read. Most people would never guess that I struggled with reading because I excelled in all of my English courses from elementary to college. However, I did struggle and because of those setbacks I want to help other students who are in the same position that I was once in to comprehend what they are reading. They don't have to fall in love with literature, but they should learn how to read. Reading is a lifelong skill that students will use well beyond school. They will find themselves reading something at least once a day.
Although I already knew or had heard of most of the comprehension strategies that Tovani mentions, it was refreshing to hear how she used these strategies in her class. I loved hearing about her personal teaching experiences and how students reacted to them. The two comprehension strategies that stuck with me were finding a purpose for reading and figuring out how to get unstuck. First of all, I read the passage titled "The House" in an education class last quarter. My professor asked the class to complete the same activity. In the beginning, I had no idea what to do. I could tell that my classmates didn't either because everyone was looking around the classroom confused. I needed instructions. I needed my professor to tell me why we were reading this passage. After the activity was over, I understood why we had done it. She wanted us to think through different lenses. Once we had a lens to think through, we had a purpose for reading and it was much easier to complete the activity. Secondly, the highlighting activity was completely new to me. Sure, I sometimes highlight or annotate when I read, but I had never actually done this particular activity. I found it useful because not only did it ask students to pay close attention to what they were reading, but also provided them with an idea of what they did or didn't understand. Students could refer back to this information when attempting to get "unstuck."
Along with these activities, I liked how Tovani mentioned that all subjects are connected. Students do not just go from one class to the next and forget what they have previously learned. Even though it may seem that students only use math in Algebra or Geometry classes, they also use math in science to solve problems. Likewise, students read in other classes apart from English. Therefore, all teachers need to teach reading and aid students in making connections from one subject to the next. I know that teachers are busy and have a gazillion things to do, but if students can't read how can they be expected to complete most work in any given class?
Overall, this book was very insightful and easy to read. It was hard to put down. The comprehension strategies that I mentioned above will definitely be used in my future classroom to assist students in becoming better readers.
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