Do you hear voices...when you are reading? I do, but does my mind wander at times. I can sure identify with the students. Even reading this chapter I found myself listening to my distracting voice..."wow, Mark sure is going fast on the new mower", "How many times am I going to have to send that job announcement to personnel", or "I wonder why there are so many bugs in my office". But, I catch myself and get through the reading and gain meaning.
Do your students try to abdicated their responsibility for understanding what they read? How have you countered this student belief in the past? In the future?
I love how Ms. Tovani describes real world monitoring. Have you ever thought about the monitoring processes' importance even when things are done well? If you expect to repeat success you have to know why you succeeded in the first place. As a basketball player I spent countless hours thinking why I was successful or not, as do I as a school principal.
What is your opinion of the six signals, listed on page 38, that Mrs. Tovani teachers her students to let them know they are confused?
What did you gather from the reading on pages 38-47 that will aide you in helping your students to gain a better understanding of what they read?
Everyone's mind wanders when they are reading something. I think it's important to discuss this with students to let them know it happens to even the best readers. It's also typical that students want to be fed the pertinent information without doing any work. Sadly, they are fed information all too often. It is imperative to discuss with students how they must tune in to what they are reading and be accountable for it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think Tovani drives home the point that teachers must model for students what good readers do when they read. Reading is a skill. It comes naturally to some people and others have to work for it. A real life example to make this point is with athletics. Some people have a natural ability for athletics, and others do not. However, both types have to work to maintain and acquire the necessary skills to be successful.
I think many students hear the reciting voice when they are reading and mistakenly believe that is all that is needed to gain comprehension. However, students must become aware that active reading and comprehension requires more than that. Think alouds can help students become aware of what good readers do. I am intrigued by her highlighting lesson and wonder if it would work as well for middle school students as it did for her high school students. It could be something interesting to try.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mrs. Johnson that some students prefer to be fed information. The new CCRS emphasize using textual evidence to support answers so they are going to be required to do more of the work on their own. Since they will have to show a deeper understanding of what they are reading, those different voices will become important as students must read and understand complex texts. They must know when their mind is wandering and when they are actively interacting with the text.
I agree with the comments mentioned above in relation to staying focused while reading. I also have trouble with my mind wandering while I am reading. The six signals mentioned in chapter 4 seem to be very effective measures in helping students identify when they are lost.
ReplyDeleteI think real world application is the best way for reaching students. In relation to reading, mentioning musicians or athletes is a great way to help students in their efforts to succeed as readers. Athletes like Rudy and James Braddock are inspirational examples that come to mind. Individuals who had to work extremely hard to succeed.
Staying focused while reading is a struggle everyone can relate with. Tovani's 6 signals are a great guide for teachers to use when determining where or how the student got confused. The signal about questioning stood out the most to me because one way I can easily gauge student comprehension is just by listening to the questions they ask. If they have good questions, there is obviously some comprehension happening and that is great to build on. I am also interested in trying the highlighter idea because it is completely text dependent, which is (I think) one of the goals of CCRS. It also seems like a great way for students to take more responsibility for their learning because they will be able to identify right away where they are getting confused.
ReplyDeleteI have trouble with my mind wandering while I am reading. Tonavani's six signals are a great guide for teachers to use when determining where or how the student got confused. One of the goals of CCRS is textual evidence and students must know when their mind is wandering or if they interacting with the text.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all comments made here. So far this is my favorite chapter..... I had trouble staying focused while reading and sometimes still do. I think the 6 signals should be taught to the students. I have typed up a simplified version (giving Tovani all the credit)of the 6 points for my students.
ReplyDeleteOn page 41 the second paragraph describes an activity I plan on doing with a little modifications.
I think my favorite point thus far is the point that she makes about "The students has to learn how to help himself when he becomes confused." This is so very true! I am going to try to teach the students how to do this.