Tovani’s "I Read It, But I Don't Get It"

While reading Tovani's book, I came across a number of anecdotes from students that had me smiling - either because they reminded me of some of my own experiences, or because I was in classrooms with fellow students who made the same complaints or had the same questions. I've definitely done some "fake reading" as a student, and Tovani had me questioning myself on why that was. Sure, there have been some times when I was strapped for time, because I procrastinated until the last night before a project was due - but I think there have also been some times when I "fake read" a book or article in a class because I realized I didn't understand, and I didn't want to take the time to figure out why. Even her own experiences in her book club were incredibly relatable to me. There have been many times, especially in philosophy classes, where the text we read felt so incredibly confusing that I simply sat quietly in the back of class, thinking myself not capable enough or smart enough to be there.

So many of Tovani's experiences were so relatable that it made me stop and reflect on people I know who choose not to read in their own time. It was somewhat eye-opening to realize that my experiences are likely very similar to those of someone like my brother-in-law, who's read maybe one book in his life (and that's genuinely not an exaggeration). Even though we may be at different reading levels, and I might be more capable than him at comprehending certain texts, we still experience similar struggles. That realization makes Tovani's comprehension strategies seem all the more useful and worth practicing, as they can be used with most students no matter their level of comprehension. 

Furthermore, a lot of her strategies can be used in different classes which teach different subjects, and that stood out to me as especially useful. The idea that every teacher, regardless of subject taught, should be teaching reading and/or writing skills has always felt a little "scary" for lack of a better word. I am obtaining certification in both English and Social Studies, and the idea of trying to teach students to read and/or write in a history class sounded both foreign and incredibly difficult. After reading some of Tovani's strategies, however, the task sounds a lot less daunting. Just her one-day lesson using Dante's Inferno, in which she spent the class period teaching her students to be able to read and comprehend the canto, could easily be applied to a history classroom - and what's one day, if at the end of the period the students are better armed to tackle future readings? 

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