After reading “How Smart Readers Think,” I really feel like
I’ve been given some clarity on what reading can be like for students.
Honestly… when I read the passage about cricket it was PAINFUL. I had no idea
what I was reading.
As I read it, as the article later discussed, I could feel my
brain trying to come up with some kind of connection… any kind of connection to
be able to draw meaning from the text. The different phrases were unfamiliar
and there was no context so for me it felt impossible to fully grasp what the
passage was talking about. This whole process brought me back to how I felt in
8th grade Social Studies with Mrs. Koch. In her class we would have
weekly reading quizzes. She would quiz us over the most miniscule details of
whatever reading had been assigned. I remember the paranoia of missing a
question would leave me trying to memorize the smallest most random details of
the passage—ultimately missing the point of the passage. Because I was reading
the passages just to get through the reading quizzes rather than to understand the
passages themselves, a lot of the information went right over my head. It was
so frustrating because I would “do the reading” every single week, but I still
wasn’t getting it.
I find so much truth in “How Smart Readers Think,” from my
own personal experiences. In order to understand a text, it has to be able to
be related to some prior knowledge. When assigning any text, as future educators
that want our students to succeed we must help them find the “Columbus key” so
that they can fully grasp the passage.
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I can totally relate to reading for classes that would have reading quizzes. It was so frustrating and discouraging when I would read exactly what I was suppose to. I wish I would have been taught earlier on how to read critically, but also as a future teacher I want to avoid those situations. I do not want students to read just for the quiz, but rather read to gain knowledge and be able to discuss the material in class. It is definitely more beneficial in the long run in student reading and learning.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Caroline!!
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