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10th out of 295 books
—
209 voters
I Read It, but I Don't Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers
I Read It, but I Don't Get It is a practical, engaging account of how teachers can help adolescents develop new reading comprehension skills. Cris Tovani is an accomplished teacher and staff developer who writes with verve and humor about the challenges of working with students at all levels of achievement—from those who have mastered the art of "fake reading" to college-b...more
Paperback, 152 pages
Published
January 1st 2000
by Stenhouse Publishers
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Feb 18, 2010
Pedr0br2012
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I Just Can't Get Into Books
"Pedro you better stop playing video games and start to read books ,I'm not asking you to, I'm telling you." "But mom I can't do it, I tried yet, when I'm reading I have difficulties." The major issue here is that I just can't get into books. I read, but I can't focus. When I'm reading I skip lines, sometimes chapters. Different things pop’s up in my head . "When we got outside of the duke of the New York we viddied, by the man bar's long liothed window." This quote i...more
"Pedro you better stop playing video games and start to read books ,I'm not asking you to, I'm telling you." "But mom I can't do it, I tried yet, when I'm reading I have difficulties." The major issue here is that I just can't get into books. I read, but I can't focus. When I'm reading I skip lines, sometimes chapters. Different things pop’s up in my head . "When we got outside of the duke of the New York we viddied, by the man bar's long liothed window." This quote i...more
Readable, well-organized, persuasive, concrete... I loved this book. Unfortunately it is a giant catalogue of things I now realize I should be doing in my classroom, but was oblivious to. On practically every page I had a face-palm moment, realizing about my students, "oh, THAT's what they're doing." I knew nothing about teaching reading, but now I have some ideas and a bit of insight. My students have no problem reading newspaper articles or novels. But when trying to read their textbooks, all...more
Apr 25, 2013
Vicky
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Vicky by:
It says "Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers" but I'm going to read this to learn "Comprehension Strategies for Vicky" lol
Cris Tovani writes I Read It, But I Don't Get It in this kind of patient adventure tone so that you feel like you're in Ms. Fritz's class, riding on the Magic School Bus. Her students who struggled to read were put into her Reading Workshop and felt things like, "It's too late for me to read" and I love how personal and professional Cris Tovani is, like how real she is when she describes her own reading history of fake-reading for classes up to the end of high school and feeling worried that she...more
OK, this is for work, but it's very well written and I'm enjoying the reading.
Tovani, the author, was a struggling reader herself, who taught herself how to actually understand what she was reading when she was in her 30s and had "fake read" through public school, high school, and a university degree. Amazing, isn't it?
Because of this, Tovani really understands what's going on in a teen's head when he can read the words, but doesn't understand what the heck is going on in the text.
Because she...more
Tovani, the author, was a struggling reader herself, who taught herself how to actually understand what she was reading when she was in her 30s and had "fake read" through public school, high school, and a university degree. Amazing, isn't it?
Because of this, Tovani really understands what's going on in a teen's head when he can read the words, but doesn't understand what the heck is going on in the text.
Because she...more
Cris Tovani, a high school language arts teacher, explains what being able to read really means. She explains the reasoning for teaching reading in all subject areas and demonstrates the connection between reading and thinking. Reading goes well beyond decoding and pronouncing words. Cris explains her own struggle to truly read. She describes her ability to read and make the grades but never able to truly understand. Some of the examples she gives of her struggles and teacher responses to those...more
Usually I like when the authors of these types of books give me concrete activities and lesson ideas I can bring to my room--it's why I love Kelly Gallagher after a colleague suggested him to me--but Chris Tovani does little of that. Yet somehow, I loved her book and it convinced me that I can, in fact, teach my sophomores to be better readers.
Tovani offers very general insights into reading problems and sets up very vague, but logical, recommendations to fix the places where comprehension brea...more
Tovani offers very general insights into reading problems and sets up very vague, but logical, recommendations to fix the places where comprehension brea...more
The best guide that I have found for teaching reading in the classroom - and trust me, I've been looking. Tovani spells out things that, as a natural reader, would never have occured to me. Not only did it illuminate for me why and how my students are struggling, but it made conscious a litant of reading skills that I never even realized I was utilizing, because they were all things I had done instinctively, without being taught.
Every secondary level teacher should read this. It behooves all of...more
Every secondary level teacher should read this. It behooves all of...more
I found the book to be specific in its suggestions and helpful in supporting the classroom teacher's efforts in helping students experience success. Have you ever watched someone speak in English to a person who appears to understand no English? When the speaker realizes the lack of understanding how often have you seen them repeat what they said but just slower and louder? I really like the specific suggestions Tovani offers teachers, and readers, many ways to help "fix" the struggles they are...more
If you're looking for a succinct explanation of how to help your students with content-area reading, this book is fantastic.
Most students know how to read, but they don't all know how to read a science text book or a newspaper article. Reading and analyzing the steps in a math problem creates a whole new problem for many students. Teaching literacy is an enormous undertaking. This book helps content-area teachers incorporate reading strategies into their subject to enhance student comprehension.
Most students know how to read, but they don't all know how to read a science text book or a newspaper article. Reading and analyzing the steps in a math problem creates a whole new problem for many students. Teaching literacy is an enormous undertaking. This book helps content-area teachers incorporate reading strategies into their subject to enhance student comprehension.
Nice professional reading for teachers of all content areas. The work features great explanations, descriptions and application suggestions of reading strategies for adolescent students. These strategies are nothing radical new, but are excellently presented from a practicing teachers point of view. They are designed to engage the student and get them to think, appreciate and understand reading. Ready made templates that can be applied directly in the classroom are also included in the back. A g...more
As a teacher of middle school Language Arts, I see and deal with it everyday. Thankfully, unlike many educational books, this text gives strategies and not just theories. Teaching students to connect to what they're reading and just how to infer information based on what they read can be difficult to say the least. This book gives actual tools and prompts for the teacher to use in facilitating this type of higher level thinking. If you teach reading to middle or high school students, regardless...more
Every Middle School and High School teacher should read this book...extremely helpful and practical information that tells how to teach specific strategies to help kids become better readers (thinkers), especially when confronted with difficult or unfamiliar text.
Most of these strategies were new ideas to me; as I finsihed reading, I wondered why someone hadn't modeled these strategies for me in all the classes I've taken throughout my life.
Most of these strategies were new ideas to me; as I finsihed reading, I wondered why someone hadn't modeled these strategies for me in all the classes I've taken throughout my life.
The author gives real world, workable strategies to help struggling readers with their comprehension. She gives specific examples from her own classroom that give me hope, because I've had the same experiences myself.
She says over and over again that we need to TEACH the strategies, rather than expect students to come into the classroom with this knowledge. In addition, she says admits that the strategies don't always work with every piece of text, and encourages the teacher to use multiple str...more
She says over and over again that we need to TEACH the strategies, rather than expect students to come into the classroom with this knowledge. In addition, she says admits that the strategies don't always work with every piece of text, and encourages the teacher to use multiple str...more
Great book with a lot of great thoughts on the reading instruction to help students read better. I love that Cris teaches at a local school and references many in-class issues teachers face. She deals with actual students and their thought process on how reading "sucks" and they're "too old" to learn how to read well. Writing from a perspective of a teacher who had trouble reading and actually teaches provides great insight.
I love this book because it's so practical and anecdotal. She talks about all reading strategies in terms of the classroom and in terms of actual students & situations. The dialogue Tovani relates (between her and past students) was so funny and authentic.
A really useful read for English teachers or anyone looking for additional reading strategies. In fact... I've learned more from this book about teaching reading than from my Reading class so far :)
A really useful read for English teachers or anyone looking for additional reading strategies. In fact... I've learned more from this book about teaching reading than from my Reading class so far :)
Having read Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop and Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement, I found that this book covered very familiar ground (reworked for older students). It would be very helpful for secondary-level teachers who have never been introduced to direct teaching of reading strategies, or who need a refresher. I liked the "teaching points" with how-to ideas listed at the end of each chapter, and will keep the book...more
This book is fabulously useful. I don't teach adolescents (her book is directed to those who teach students in high school or below); I teach college students. But I still encounter the problems she addresses here, including students who fake-read, students who can't gain a basic understanding of texts without relying on the teacher or other students, and students who don't know how to create their own meaning from and truly interact with the text.
I took detailed notes on this book and plan to...more
I took detailed notes on this book and plan to...more
My district sent me this book because I work with struggling readers. I'd planned to take it home for the summer but it ended up in the wrong box. It took me a while to find it again so I'll probably spend some time re-reading.
It's a good book, filled with anecdotes. The strategies tend to be general but I like the way the anecdotes deal with both struggling readers and "successful" readers. After all, don't we all become struggling readers when we read a topic we are unfamiliar with?
I would rec...more
It's a good book, filled with anecdotes. The strategies tend to be general but I like the way the anecdotes deal with both struggling readers and "successful" readers. After all, don't we all become struggling readers when we read a topic we are unfamiliar with?
I would rec...more
If you are working with struggling readers, especially older (middle school/high school) this book will give you some great ideas. I return to it year after year.
I read it once in college, but came across it again when I was working on my Master's and couldn't believe that I hadn't been using some of Tovani's ideas all along!
I read it once in college, but came across it again when I was working on my Master's and couldn't believe that I hadn't been using some of Tovani's ideas all along!
As an effective, life-long reader, this book gave me a special insight into the minds and frustrations of those for whom reading is torture. It gave me strategies and so much valuable advice! Every teacher of every content area should read this book.
Reading and comprehension go together. Cris Tovani does a great job of outlining the ways to help students get the most out of thier reading. This book is designed to help the tacher help the student in ways that are easy for the student to understand.
One of my favorite professional books. Tovani is eminently readable, practical, and such a wonderful model of how we can better work with students who struggle. I have read it every summer as a great refresher. Highly recommend this one.
I recommend this book to anyone who has to teach, particularly at the middle and high school levels. There are a lot of simple, quick strategies in this book that can be applied in one or two class periods to help students become better readers. I'm happy to lend someone my copy, so long as I get it back!
This is a good companion book to mosaic of thought. The book explains key reading strategies and how to implement them. The author's experiences help illustrate both the problems and the solutions in action.
Tovani offers no panacea to reading deficiencies in this book but does offer a good number of strategies struggling readers can use to improve comprehension. She does a great job explaining how to use the strategies. This is a very readable and very practical professional read.
A great book with practical strategies for immediate use in a classroom. It was quick, to the point, and give concrete examples and advice on implementation. If only all books on teaching were as enjoyable and informative!
I loved this book. It was honest, readable, and helpful. Tovani is forthcoming about mistakes she has made in the classroom and things that we all do in the interest of time and moving lessons along. I expect that this is a book I will return to over and over again in my career (or at least in these next couple of years).
When I was teaching GED classes to adult learners, I constantly had students tell me that they had a really hard time remembering what they read. Being such a natural reader, I struggled to come up with suggestions other than for them to slow down, take their time while reading, take notes, and re-read. This book is full of several valuable and usable tools to help readers of all levels start to remember what they have read and to actually "get" it. This was one of the best books I was required...more
Packed with strategies that make sense and seem easy to implement, plus rationales behind strategies. Gets to the point fast but doesn't rush you.
This book was a great read and one that I think can come in handy in the classroom. Many different strategies that would help diverse learners.
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Feb 04, 2012 07:35pm