Choose one option:
A. Write a question you would ask the author based on this chapter. Why are you asking this and what other thoughts do you have related to your question can you express?
B. Reflect on how this book has changed or challenged your teaching/thinking process, what you have noticed or seen any difference in student performance with trying strategies, etc.?
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The question I would ask the author about this chapter is whether her students actually said what she quoted them as saying or whether she made it up. Call me a cynic, but a lot of it does not seem something like a student would say.
ReplyDeleteIt just seems like a lot of her student's responses fit too perfectly into the point that she is trying to make.
Not to say that students never have inspiring responses during a discussion, there are times in which you can tell they get it and are really into what you are talking about.
My question would be do these strategies work as well when applied to a non-fiction work, especially a textbook. I ask this because the textbook is where a lot of my students struggle with comprehension.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that students would be much more willing to experiment and try new things when reading fiction. I think they feel there is some expectation in non-English classes that they should automatically understand the reading. I imagine that this is form a combination of their expectations and their teachers.
I'm thinking of some of the ideas that Chris brought up, but I definitely would struggle teaching students those strategies with a textbook...especially since a textbook builds upon itself and it's hard to comprehend a later section if you didn't understand an earlier one.
I imagine a great deal of it has to do with what we're reading. Like what Tovani said in the first chapter, if the teacher is not excited about the reading, why should the student be.
Hi group! I wish I could model a "Marking the text" example to show you based on your responses, some key ideas. So here goes a few parts I will take your excerpts and comment some thinking related to them.......
ReplyDeleteBryce: "Call me a cynic, but a lot of it does not seem something like a student would say....It just seems like a lot of her student's responses fit too perfectly into the point that she is trying to make." I have heard similar comments from others who have read this book! I think if you see some video and do more reading, you may be blown away by what students actually say and do that seem so awesome. I've seen some first grade students using the word schema to talk about there own comprehension!! I've also worked with some students who don't know that reading is anything more than "word calling" or don't know when they don't know or understand! It all depends on the teachers they have to teach them and repetivitely practice with them.
Beth---- "I think they feel there is some expectation in non-English classes that they should automatically understand the reading. I imagine that this is form a combination of their expectations and their teachers."
VERY TRUE observational comments! But a terribly wrong assumption ... students and teachers sometimes "don't ask, don't tell" or admit there is a problem with non-fiction text!! These strategies WORK very well with non-fiction........come to the Thurs. session to see!! Reread page 47 when Tovani talks about using a chemistry text.....there are more examples of nonfiction that will come up also.
FROM DIMA......My only question, which I am formulating after trying some of these strategies in class, is “how do I counter the ‘know-it-alls’ that stick to the notion that they are never confused, and they do not need to attempt any of the approaches proposed by Tovani?”
ReplyDeleteI ask this, because the answer is almost obvious, but it holds a considerable amount of insult. I find myself not being able to simply tell a student she has no idea what she has just read because she in not good at constructing meaning (even though it is infinitely obvious).
I used to think Math and English were pretty much as opposite as you could get. After reading the "How do I know I'm stuck?" part of this chapter it really seemed to me that the same exact things happen in math. On page 38 it list out 6 ways you could be stuck in reading which I sort of translated into how they appear in math. I can't tell you how many times a day I hear a student say, "I don't know what to do." When I ask them what is giving them the trouble, they are never able to specify. If students were able to determine what part of the problem gave them trouble, it would help so much in overcoming the problem. Anyways, here is how I saw that list on page 38:
ReplyDelete1. The student does not understand what the problem is saying.
2. The student does not know what the question is.
3. The student's mind begins to wander.
4. The student performs many operations but doesn't really have a plan or direction.
5. The student is weak on certain operations.
6. The student does not remember what certain symbols or terminology mean.