Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Chp. 7, 8, and 9
For these final chapters, try to combine some key ideas the author shared into a short summary that will help you remember these ideas. You may get creative and put it into the format of a poem, newspaper/t.v. ad, mneumonic device, or anything else...........then put a short explanation.
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“It pays to be inquisitive,” states Tovani. I completely agree. It is important in life to be inquisitive, especially after academia. That is why it is so important for me as an educator to teach my students to question __________ (insert in the blank: text, film, form, song, statement, `move, template, emotion… everything, really).
ReplyDelete“Inferring is the bedrock of comprehension.” But, it is important for students not to get lost in their imagination. As Tovani warns, an opinion is not necessarily an educated inference. Opinions are often made in your heart, while inference are always made in your mind (by analysing outside information). That’s why it is important for me to stop outlandish responses before they get out of hand.
Throughout her chapters, Tovani stays true to one theme – perfection will not be instantaneous; one must achieve it with practice. I understand this in a sense that reading strategies MUST be used by the “bad” reader consciously; thus, improving reading skills and, eventually, reading without thinking about them.
Teachers! Pay attention to this commercial and all your student reading woes will disappear! Are you tired of facing “zombie” students when you ask questions? Could your students read a book 100 times and still not understanding what its meaning was? You’re not alone! By following the I Read It, But I Don’t Get It program, you too can have fabulous readers in your class room! The first step is to realize that questioning leads to inferring and inferring leads to understanding. Creating students that are able questioners is not an easy task, however, you must first model the strategy, create a situation in which the students can use it and then finally allow the students time to practice it independently. In the end, if your students still cannot create meaning on their own, you will get a full money back guarantee. Remember, if you call now, you can get this priceless value for the low, low price of countless hours wondering if what you’re doing is making any difference at all only to find years later that some of your students were a success and that you were not a total failure. Act now! Don’t lose out! *cue the I Read It, But I Don’t Get It dancing girls as camera fades out*
ReplyDeleteThis ad kind of focuses on issues in chapters 7, 8 and 9 probably because I just read those chapters. Obviously this is my cynical take on teaching. I would say that there was stuff in this book that I will use, such as chapter 7 on questioning, and some stuff that I will not use, such as the thinking voice in chapter 4. Overall, it was a useful book and it definitely made me rethink some of my beliefs on student understanding and the use of reading in the class room.
Yea!! Very enthusiastic and creative responses!
ReplyDeleteTeachers are a "hard to sell" audience and many times need some nudging. Try to keep an open mind and be open to trying new strategies every year.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts/ideas.....
Having stronger readers is really just a QuIP.
ReplyDeleteQuestioning strategies, Inferences, and having a plan.
I like the use of the word quip, which really doesn't get enough use in the world. I think the last three chapters were about encouraging higher level thinking among your students. So quip helps me remember because it is a witty, higher level remark.
Encouraging curiosity is very difficult in students. Often, they don't see anything that interests them in what you're teaching and you have to dig for those connections. Making inferences has to have that curiosity behind it I believe. A student can not back up their opinions with facts if they are not curious about what the reading has to say, if they are not trying to see if it agrees with them and not. And making a plan, the idea that students can start controlling their reading on their own is a very high level skill that we as teachers can only hope to encourage.
Beth---
ReplyDeleteThat is a clever and useful device (Quip)!
It is also interesting that you can enourage and persuade students to develop curiosity for what they read. Even if the subject matter or topic is not naturally interesting to them, there is that carryover into the world of work and being an informed member of society which would help them see why it is important to become curious.
Question Question Question! A good reader must constantly ask themselves questions. After all, there can be no answers unless we first have questions. Questions make people think, which is always a good thing, about the possible answers. It keeps their minds engaged and improves prediction skills.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you have to keep in check though, is how crazy these predictions can get. After students get comfortable at making guesses and inferring from the text which is not explicitly stated, there could be some pretty wild remarks. The next step is to get students into the habit of checking how reasonable their predictions/inferences are and being able to verbalize their justifications. In other words, students need to be able to present evidence to support their claim.
Change will not happen overnight. Students need continued practice with these strategies and this may require quite a bit of planned effort if students aren't naturally asking questions or making predictions. Even though it is difficult and at times it may seem we aren't making a difference, it is very important we continue putting forth the effort. Literacy is a vital skill and necessary for students to think critically.