This chapter is about thinking and writing while reading.
She goes through many examples of how she teaches her students to mark their pages
and to write things down. Personally I have a hard time with this because I
like to read as fast as I can when it has something to do with school. I am
usually pressed for time as well because of school and work and such and don’t want
to take the time to write things out or highlight important parts. So I really
rely on considerate text so that I don’t have to read something a million
times. But a problem I also have is in the rally inconsiderate texts I can read
a sentence at least ten times and still not comprehend what it is saying. Those
ones I really utilize the highlighters and note sheets because if and when I finally
do understand something I and to write it down or underline what I understand.
Tovani tries to explain the chapter that by doing these
exercises either through highlighting or having a sheet that can record their thoughts
it is really about getting them to think while reading the text and then to
write it down so you can remember. She goes over and over in the text how we
can’t remember everything. She quotes a Mark Twain quote that says, “No one is
smart enough to remember all that he knows.” This statement is so profound to
me because it make s me realize that even if I know something it doesn’t mean
that I will remember it. How many times do I learn something and then it is
eventually forgotten. The human mind is so amazing but it does have
limitations. So how can we get our students to retain the information that we
are trying to give them? This idea of note taking is not profound but it is
extremely important and helpful. Students are supposed to take notes during a
lecture or class so they can remember the information, so why wouldn’t we have
them write down what they are thing while reading something?
She also talks about the importance of group discussion and
even group notes into his chapter. Through groups I am learning in this particular
class that it I a huge benefit to getting the student to comprehend, If I didn’t
have my group I would have been lost in most of the readings and assignments
for this class. We also talked about this in depth in our class session last
night and how a discussion can benefit the students even if they didn’t read the
text. So in this case we had to answer if the content of the lesson was the
most important thing or their reading skills. That way you can get on the
students that are not reading so that they can start to participate and become
better readers.
All in all I feel that the explanations that
Tovani gives to the importance of why we do these note taking and highlighting
strategies is very important. As a reluctant note taker and highlighter I am
going to take Tovani’s advice and start to do it again.
In regards to your comment about helping students remember, I recall in high school that I was able to remember all of the dialogue, music and choreography for the musicals I was in, but I couldn't remember the Preamble to the Constitution. Looking back, in performing arts, it was set to a rhythm, how the words were uttered, the beats that went into singing a line, those things made it easy. I've learned through my book that the epics such as the Iliad and The Odyssey were memorized because they had rhythm and rhyme. I try my best to sing as much as I can to help my kids retain things. Does it work? Sometimes. Does it keep them interested? I sure hope so, otherwise I probably look like a fool dancing around the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote Tovani uses by Mark Twain because no one is smart enough to remember everything they know. If we could all remember every piece of knowledge that we have,I don't think we would constantly have to go back to school to further our education. We could read something once and know it forever. This however, is not the case. That is why reading takes practice. That is why learning anything takes studying and practice and we, as educators, should use this quote to inspire our teaching.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great to have Group discussions, and just like you, I found them to be beneficial for all. When I had confusiion, I had people in my corner I could ask. It enables us to get a clear understanding or working as a team also. Which can be a life lesson, because when you have your teaching spot at a school, you are not working alone, you are working with your entire school.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to read and think about these examples of thinking and writing while reading. Tovani again proves that she is a very experienced teacher who give very useful strategies and ways of teaching. I like how she shows & focuses on the importance group discussion.
ReplyDeleteI agree that group discussions are important to do in the classroom. I have heard that even a morning and afternoon discussion with the whole class can be a great way to help form a classroom community because students can share ideas, emotions, thoughts, etc. The thing with class meetings is that a safe and comfortable environment must be created in order for students to feel comfortable sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter seems great! I really cant read without highlighting or taking notes, it is almost impossible for me to retain detailed information that is important and is hard to get back to the text. I would really encourage the usage of these two tools to students. I also feel that by writing things down not only you remember more but you get to understand the text better.
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