I Read It, But I Don't Get It, Chapters 1-5 - Response

So far, I've really enjoyed reading Chris Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It.  It is a very practical book, and I like how it has anecdotes from real classrooms.  Tovani does a great job addressing the realities of reading in these first few chapters, and I think she presents a lot of useful strategies that can help students overcome comprehension difficulties.

I like how Tovani took the time to point out how common and easy fake-reading is.  I've witnessed a lot of fake-readers first hand in my own education.  In many classes, it is too easy to get by by just reading the Cliff Notes or SparkNotes for books, and I have had a lot of classmates who didn't take the time to read a text because they either didn't feel they had to or just weren't motivated to.  I agree with Tovani that reading has lost its purpose and pleasure for many people, which is why I really liked her activity where she shared her own favorite books and reading experiences.  This is something I would want to do in my own classroom.  Books have been a great influence on my life, and I remember specific points in time where I was reading a good book that challenged me to examine myself and my world.  I believe that it is very important for teachers to share their passion for reading.  We need to share what reading means to us so our students can discover what reading means to them.  We need to find a way to show our students that books are more than just words on pages and that reading is much more exciting and enjoyable than just simply decoding the words on those pages.

I also agree that many people overlook the complexity of reading and take certain things for granted.  Reading involves a sophisticated mental interaction with the text that many either overlook or fail to see.  After reading these chapters, I do feel that there isn't enough reading comprehension instruction in secondary grades.  I never really thought about it before, but it does seem like students are expected to be able to comprehend texts by the time they reach middle school, and they are given increasingly complex texts as they progress throughout their education without any additional instruction in comprehension.  I feel that comprehension skills must be continually worked on at all ages; I still feel like I'm improving as a reader even though I've considered myself skilled for quite some time.  Students need to be given opportunities to become better readers by practicing their comprehension skills and by utilizing strategies like the ones Tovani suggests.  I really like how Tovani has addressed reading difficulties in her book so far, and I am looking forward to reading through these next several chapters..