In this book, it will cover:
How teachers can model for their students.
Supplementing and enhancing existing textbooks.
Specific strategies that are taught in details.
Narratives from different secondary school of how reading intruction varies by content.
Examples of work from both, “at-risk” students and students who are college bound.
Ways for students to help capture their thoughts in writing while reading.
Advise on assessing students.
And how to balance content and reading instructions.
This blog will basically follow the book chapter by chapter and will do its best to show the relationship between this books and what the goals of this class.
Some of the things that the first chapter highlights, especially in the sub-section of “Understanding Content Teaching” is what makes a good reader and quick fixes that struggling readers could use to help them get through the text..
Some of the characteristics of a good reader are:
Accessing pre-existing knowledge and trying to connect new knowledge with existing knowledge.
Self-questioning for parts of the text that might not be clear.
Using inferences from the text using cues and background knowledge.
Knowing how to seperate what is important and main ideas from details.
And for quick-fix strategies used by struggling readers when the text become unclear:
It is important for the reader to make a connection between their own life, knowledge of the world or even other texts that they have read compared to topics in the text that is being read.
Making predictions and stopping after reading so much and reflection on what has just been read.
Ask a question and try to answer it through the text.
Create a reading journal or log and add stuff to it after reading so much.
Try to retell what has just been read in your own words.
Again, going back to the beginning of this entry, that students need to not read to get it over with but to read to get something out of the text.
Omar- Somthing you said in your blog really struck me. You wrote about students going through a class without reading the book. This reminds me of my brother in high school. He never brought home a book, I doubt he even did his own work, yet he had A's and B's, made the National Honor Society and is now receving his doctorate in Educational Psychology. We had a very supportive mother growing up. She knew my brother did not enjoy reading so everynight she began reading with him to ensure that he did get his work done. He is now receiving his doctorate in Educational Psychology. I just thought this may be food for thought that maybe our students may not be so fond of reading now, but eventually with us making it important they will realize how important it is. BTW...My brother now has a vast collection of literature ranging from Stephen King to Psychology.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the reasons students read to get it over with is because they have been taught that reading is done at school, about what the teacher wants you to learn, and needs to be completed by the time the teacher asks. Students haven't been allowed enough time to read for enjoyment or to research their own inquiries.
ReplyDeleteI was one of those kids in high school and Jr. high that had slipped through the cracks just like you had said. I was always reading spark notes or finding chapter summaries online. I did what ever I could to get out of reading a book simply because I did not enjoy reading textbooks or educational novels. I never had the choice of what I wanted to read. Now that I can choose reading has become much easier for me than it was in the past. I look forward to reading the rest of your blog.
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