I read it, but I don't get it!

I really enjoyed I Read it, But I Don’t Get it because it was really insightful for a, a future teacher who is going to encounter students who struggle with reading comprehension.  As I was reading this book, I thought of my own high school experience, and I was trying to remember if I even struggled with reading comprehension or if I noticed any of my peers struggling as well, and what I did to overcome those obstacles. The one thing I really liked in this book was the constant dialogue between Cris Tovani and her students. I think it helped make the story more realistic, and, as a future teacher, it was cool to see the students have these “ah ha!” moments of reaching comprehension of what they were reading and makes it more realistic that I can also help students reach these goals as well. As I was reading, I bookmarked parts of Tovani’s teaching that I felt were important to me, or I could incorporate into my own teaching as well. For instance, in the section titled “Purpose is Everything”, Tovani does an exercise with her students where they have to read a small article called The House. Tovani first has the students read the piece, and circle what they feel like is important. Next, the students read the piece again and highlight in pink what would be important for a robber. Next, students will read the piece again and highlight in another color what’s important for a house buyer. Tovani then has students compare the three different readings, and students should recognize that it was much easier to find what was important when they were given a purpose. Lastly, Tovani has students compare what they found was important for the robber and for the buyer.

I found myself relating to Tovani’s students because everyone goes through some type of a struggle with reading comprehension, but I also did find myself practicing many of the steps Tovani teaches to her students on how to over come the struggle. I am hoping that I can influence some of the strategies onto my future students as well.