"I Read it, But I Don't Get it" by Cris Tovani

-
Cris Tovani’s I Read it, But I Don’t Get it was a very interesting read for me. Reading and comprehension has always been a strong suit for me. I love reading and trying to figure out the meanings within the texts, or movies, or plays, or whatever type of entertainment I am consuming. But I also recognize that not everyone excels at these tasks and challenges the same way that I do, meaning that I will have students that struggle to comprehend and relate to texts in ways that I may never realize. Looking at the techniques that students have to be taught and how to help teach and reach these students was very helpful for me as a future educator. Before reading this text, I had no idea how to help and approach students who will be struggling with comprehension. By showing readers how she helps students Tovani gave me multiple ideas and approaches on how to help my future students in my classroom.

As a good reader and teacher, it is my responsibility to model how to read and improve comprehension to students. Showing students: how I landed on a conclusion, the evidence needed to make predictions, the questions I asked to guide my reading, and how I too can and do become confused by pieces of text allows students to make the first steps toward better comprehension. Learning to model may be one of the hardest things I teach myself for becoming a better teacher, comprehension strategies feel so naturally engrained in my reading anymore that I am not sure how to separate all of my thoughts in a clear way for students to follow. Seeing how Tovani does it in her book allows me to think and see how she models for her students and how I can show my students how I think through texts.


Throughout the text Tovani constantly reiterates how she validates the thoughts of her students. By writing down and marking a text alongside the students and with their comments, students will be able to see that their thoughts are valid and the connections they make with the text are worthwhile. Teaching students that the thoughts they have while reading and that working to create connections with the text will be one of the most important steps in teaching comprehension. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning Letter

-
Throughout this quarter I have completed two book talks, wrote fifteen blog post on separate readings six of which are full-length books read over the course of the quarter, and wrote a full three-week unit plan.  The two books talks that I completed were literally as far as apart as possible within the quarter. My first was the first day of book talks while my second was on the last possible day for book talks within the quarter. Since my book talks were so spread out I had the opportunity to look at and learn from everyone else’s book talks in order to build my second book talk as well as the feedback from my first book talk. My first book talk was over Patricia McCormick’s Sold and I did the talk itself by the seat of my pants just winging it and hoping for the best out of the talk itself. My second talk was over Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord that was far less by the seat of my pants and little more structured and thought through but I also had less fun giving the second bo...
Read more

"The Education of Margot Sanchez" by Lillian Rivera

-
The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera was an interesting read, I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. After hearing the first chapter read aloud in class I was curious as to how the book would turn out. I also initially thought that the book would be a little childish for my tastes. While the book was definitely aimed towards a younger reader, since Margot is only fifteen, and the cultural differences between Margot and myself, Margot being from the Bronx of Latinx decent while I am a white girl from the suburbs of Idaho, I found myself still being able to connect to Margot. I remember being fifteen and working hard to try and fit in with everyone around me and thinking that the fake façade I put together is what would get me friends. Margot creates this persona at Somerset that she thinks will get her accepted but really she isolates herself from the people that truly love her. Rivera has crafted a classic coming of age story that is based in a setting t...
Read more

Graphic Novels

-
I ended up buying The Graphic Canon while I was buying my textbooks and I think that it was the best decision I’ve made while paying hundreds for textbooks I don’t use after the quarter. Before even reading some of the adaptions I realized how useful this collection will be in my future classroom. I remember being the student that didn’t really want to read the stories, as the now English major and literature lover I still don’t always want to read the stories. Graphic novels are a great way to introduce students to the classic without boring them by making them read the whole thing and muddle through the complexities that are often seen in classic literature. The graphic novel deception of the stories also allows students to see the story in ways they may have never imagined before.  An example would be the adaption of The Great Gatsby that is showcased in the third volume of The Graphic Canon. The original is a short novel but the graphic adaption is only ten pages quickly...
Read more