As previously mentioned I am in the Health Education program at UNM. I have not began to student teach but have done much observations in APS health classrooms. I must say that when signing up to take this course I thought how could this possibly help me to teach Health. I kept thinking back to all of my observations and trying to picture where and how what I would be learning would be beneficial in a Health classroom. After reading many of the assigned readings along with the start of the text "Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?" I am slowly but surely starting to see how the concepts in this class can be applied to the subjects I want to teach in the future.
In "Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?" a high school english teacher Cris Tovani, who is also a member of the PEBC in Colorado, takes many basic psychological and educational ideas, concepts, and theories and puts them to use in a very cohesive, strategic and organized way so that they can be used in any classroom to teach children how to read comprehensively. The Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC) is a group based out of Denver, CO that consists of teachers of literacy and self development. When Cris joined this group it was lead by Ellin Keene and Suzan Zimmerman co authors of Mosaic Thought. I found this very interesting because when reading Tovani's text I found some of her statements of specific ideas and concepts to remind me of the Mosaic of Thought excerpt in which I read last week. Aside from teaching high school English and Reading, Tovani has traveled to several schools as a consultant on teaching reading and content comprehension.
I found this text enjoyable to read because of the authors practicality and honesty. Cris Tovani states in her text "There is nothing unique or revolutionary I use simple principles of good teaching to design comprehension, lessons, activities, and materials." I also appreciate that Cris illustrates a motivation to convince all students and teachers of all contents that reading and teaching reading comprehension is important. When Cris shared a story of her persuasion to an Industrial Tech teacher as to why and how learning to teach reading could be beneficial specifically in his classroom I sensed how motivated she is to teach.
In chapters 1-4 Tovani gives several strategies, exercises and concepts for reading comprehensively and strategically. Two strategies presented that stuck with me most were what Tovani calls "thinking strategies used by proficient writers" and "fix-up" strategies. Thinking strategies involve using and applying background knowledge, imaging, questioning, deciding what is important, breaking down thoughts and expanding thoughts. Fix-Up strategies are intended to be used when reading becomes complex or confusing. Fix-Up strategies involve: making predictions, connections, questions and reflections while answering the questions and using what you have already read. Slowing down can also be a Fix-Up strategy.
Cris Tovani also makes a very good point in the second chapter of this book. She stresses the truth about the expectations of teachers. She points out that teachers are expected to cover a very extensive amount of material in a short period of time. Because of this many teachers in turn will often ask for or expect an impractical amount of effort and work from students. Tovani analogously compares it to wanting to loose thirty pounds while eating cake all the time. She states "you can't have your cake and eat it too." I found this humorous and very true.
I love the title of this book.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the book does seem to tie into Mosaic of Thought, especially when you mention the teaching strategies for comprehensive reading. The fact that the thinking strategies involve the reader to make decisions about what is important by using their background knowledge is exactly what the Mosaic of Thought article was saying. It's interesting that primary discourse and identity have so much to do with literacy. The Fix Up strategies for reading certainly seem to be very metacognitive. What a fabulous beginning to the book!
My initial reaction after reading your blog is how the immense expectations and pressures on teachers to teach students often leads to selfish instruction, most of the time without them realizing its damaging nature. They tend to focus on students grasping a wide range of concepts in many subject matters when the time table to learn is often as diverse as a classroom in New Mexico! What I mean by selfish is that teachers tend to look through a lens that focuses on their jobs and career aspects such as meeting standards etc. This is common in any occupation but educators have a unique job in that they are second to the transfer of knowledge of any given amount of individuals at hand. In a way it is not their fault because we are juggling meeting occupational demands while at the same time required to focus on individual needs! This is why the instructional framework of teaching something as difficult as literacy can lead to many unsuccessful attempts!
ReplyDeleteCould you explain "fix up strategies" a little more?
ReplyDeleteFix Up strategies can be used as a tool for readers to create an awareness of their comprehension while reading. These strategies are most helpful when a reader has difficulty understanding what they are reading.
ReplyDeleteExamples could be to recap or write reflections about what you have read. Other examples could be to raise questions or visualize what you are reading. I think fix up strategies for reading are metacognitive strategies, they are intended to help you think about your thinking while reading.
"Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?" sounds like a great book. Cris Tovani’s approach seems effective and by the way you’ve described her, I like her perspective on teaching and, I agree with you, it definitely connects the Mosaic of Thought piece we read. I am struck by the quote: "There is nothing unique or revolutionary I use simple principles of good teaching to design comprehension, lessons, activities, and materials." Additionally, I agree that the expectations of teachers and, in turn, students is like to wanting to loose thirty pounds while eating cake all the time. I am eager to learn more about your book, Deonna!
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