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

Tovani’s book has a remarkable amount of information about how to help those students who struggle with reading, and the various ideas and reading strategies are very well constructed. Upon first reading the book I felt that much of what she was saying seemed to be aimed at an age group much younger than the High School students that I intend to teach, but if I were to tweak some of the work sheets and strategies a little it could easily be used for an older audience.

                I have always supported the idea of actively reading any text. By that I mean reading with a pen in your hand and having a real conversation with the text as you read. I recognized this as a habit of good readers, but for some reason had not made the connection that if readers who struggled were to use the same strategy it would help them to come to a better understanding of the intent of the author and the difficult or more confusing passages of the text. Using this strategy to tie what the reader already knows outside of the text to help them understand what is inside the text is common sense, but having the means within my hands to help students make that connection is invaluable.

                Most interesting of all, however, is this idea of fake reading. Even as a fairly accomplished reader, I have found myself committing the act of fake reading when I have to deal with difficult texts in my college courses as well as in my own reading at home. Surprisingly enough, even as an excellent reader, I often felt that if I could simply pronounce the words and go through the text with a certain mellifluousness I was accomplishing comprehension, even when, after completing a text, I couldn’t really explain to anyone what it was that I had just read.