Tovani Chapter 5: "Why Am I Reading This?"
1. What was the chapter about?
In this chapter, Tovani discusses the idea that reading shouldn't be race. Reading has a much more significant purpose for students, rather than just trying to be the first one to finish. While reading, students should always try to read to gain something by taking away important information of which they may not have encountered otherwise. The chapter also discusses who is in charge of setting the curriculum for each content area and how teachers should implement that material to fit their students needs.
2. What does this chapter tell you about teaching students?
I believe this chapter told me a lot about teaching students because teachers have to remember to be clear in their reasons for assigning the reading. I loved when Tovani said, "When readers have a purpose, they tend to remember more of the text," because I think this is something all teachers definitely have to remember when teaching students. If we give our students a purpose for reading the material, they can better determine what is important and what they should really take away from the material. It's also crucial for teachers to remember that it's impossible to effectively teach all of the material in the textbook because how can we expect our students to master the information in less time than we the experts did.
3. Can this chapter be applied in your content area?
Yes, this chapter can certainly be applied in my content area, as well as every other content area! The "instructional focus guide sheet" is an excellent way for any teacher to narrow down his/her purposes for a specific text. Tovani did an excellent job of showing how this instructional guide sheet could be implemented in every content area. Any math teacher could definitely use this sheet to help themselves think through what is most essential and how they will get their students to master these ideas. Finally, it's extremely important that teachers remember to use their conversation voice in a math classroom, which involves a voice that has a conversation with the text, rather than just simply reciting the words.
Jenna,
ReplyDeleteGood post! I had a lot of the same revelations as I read Tovani's Chapter 5. Reading math can be overwhelming for students, so it is important for teachers to be selective of what they make students read. As you mentioned, students should be given a purpose for what they read and will likely take more out of if this occurs. Tovani's suggestions for helping teachers organize and focus their instruction is incredibly useful. Math covers such an array of topics and can be overwhelming for students. If teachers can narrow their focus and go more in depth, it can greatly benefit our students.
Jordan
Hey Jenna, I agree with what you said about using our conversation voices in a math classroom. Like you have mentioned before in class, math textbooks can be very dense and complex. For example, here is a sentence in the Algebra 1 textbook we are using: "A solution of an inequality in two variables is an ordered pair that makes the inequality true." There are several key phrases in this sentence that should be discussed. Someone who is trying to read for speed may miss the crucial ideas shown in this sentence. See you tonight!
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