At some point it was explained to me that reading can be a game; or at least make the objective something to be done and won. Of course, this can minimize some of the other benefits to reading, but it can also be a strategy to get students’ attention and see the purpose to some reading tasks. That is how I approached reading Subjects Matter by H. Daniels and S. Zemelman. How much do I need to read and in what time? What am I suppose to do with the text? And how will I show I read and understood it?....What is my task?
Like too many of our students I strategized how to most quickly read the required text in the time allowed. In that vein, I read the chapter titles and flipped through the pages to peruse the subtitles. Because I was not certain I could read ALL the chapters in time, I started with the one that was most unfamiliar to me (I have to admit here that I had previously been assigned to read parts of this text in a previous class). At that point I began reading.
The text is an easy read, and the examples very applicable and congruent. The anecdotal student and adult reading behaviors are accurate and easy to relate to; therefore, being so business minded about my task was hard to do. Periodically I had to remind myself what my task was: to find words, phrases, sentences and passages that I found to be thought provoking for the purpose of sharing with the group. In my mind I kept telling myself, “Stay on task.” Sound familiar?
Other reading strategies that I used (and always use) are marking my text (A LOT), making connections, posing questions (one of my “markings”) and rereading for the purpose of completing my task. I asked myself, is that the word, phrase, sentence or passage I want to use? After rereading and giving it some thought, I either marked the page (again) or moved on.
As for the protocol, I was a bit familiar with it and had used it as a student in previous classes; however, I have never used it with students. Why? Precisely why I am in this class….to get more familiar with and build an arsenal of tools to use with literature in my classes. This one is relatively easy to follow and can just as easily be altered to meet students’ and my needs. As a group we did surprisingly well following the protocol and sustaining a meaningful dialog about the chapters we decided on.
As for the text, Daniels and Zemelman get to the “what” students should read, and how teachers can make it understood and even enjoyable. As previously identified it is easy to read and not filled with theory or pedagogical talk. Future chapters will have very specific pre-, during and post- reading activities that teachers can possibly modify and incorporate.
There will always be texts that are not yours or your students’ first choice to read. However, if they are carefully chosen, and meaningful practices and tasks are aligned with the text, students can read with intent, understand and learn, and they just might enjoy themselves along the way.
Yes! I loved when you said, "there will always be texts that are not yours or your students' first choice to read." It made me think of our conversation yesterday about whole-class novels. Though I believe in student choice for MOST of the readings done in a class, I see real benefit for shared, "touchstone" texts. It is so rewarding when a student starts off hating a book or a short story, but through, as you said, "meaningful practices and tasks" and engaging student talk, they begin to love it.
ReplyDeleteI know that you have only read one chapter and it was probably more of an introduction to the rest of the book but did it make you think of reading instruction differently in any way that that might help a fellow Spanish teacher?
ReplyDeleteTia, as adults, we are often so good and setting a purpose for our reading and then making a "plan of attack." This is one strategy that we really need to help our students understand. Too often, they just start reading at the first word and first sentence without really previewing the text -- looking at the charts, images, headings, subheadings. When I first started the Ed.D. program, our first professor really taught us how to "attack" a research document. She taught us to read the summary and conclusions first, then go back to the introduction, review the literature review, and then scan the methodology section for key points. Many of my cohort members had never even considered an alternate order for reading the text. Sometimes we take for granted that the way we tackle a text is "normal" or "typical."
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