January 21st, 2012
Tovani- Chapter 1
This was an introductive chapter to the book, Do I really have to teach reading. This chapter was about the authors experience in teaching reading techniques and her personal experience with reading text that she is uninterested in and cannot understand. When she was asked to teach a lesson on reading about viruses she was not thrilled. However, she realized that when she asked questions about the topic, she was able to look in the book to find the answers and how they apply. She also encouraged teachers to use text other than the textbook to help make their topics interesting. She talks about what sets good readers apart from other readers. She also address that she understands that with curricula to cover it can be hard to teach reading, but she talks about different strategies that can help students absorb what they read.
I found Amy and Ann’s technique very smart and creative. They had students go back and draw what they thought small pox would look like if someone were to have it. This forced the student to read carefully and really pick out things that described the virus. Not only did that help the students understand the text better it also gave them a visual. They are probably less likely to small pox due to the fact that they drew a picture and took a deeper look at the characteristics of the disease which can serve as a foundation to build upon and learn about other virus.
I agree with Tovani, it can be hard for teachers to teach reading as well as their own content area lessons. However, if you use these reading strategies along with your content area lesson and activities a teacher may be able to accomplish both at once.
I think of myself as an artist. As a teacher I'm going to encourage students to use their uniqueness and creativity to discover their talents and things about themselves that they may not have known before.
Citations
Tovani, C. (2004). Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?: Content Comprehension, grades 6-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse
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