Tovani’s “I Read it, but I don’t get it”

          After reading Tovani’s “I Read it, but I don’t get it,” I feel as if I have more understanding on the mind of a student who struggles to read. One of the techniques that Tovani mentioned was having the students who are struggling to read a text go through it with a pen in their hand. This is commonly seen in classrooms when students are annotating their text in order to produce a final conclusive summary of what they had just read. However, for a student who is not understanding their articles, this can be a great strategy for them to use. I believe that it would help them because they are taking the time to go one section at a time to really understand what the author(s) are trying to say.

          In addition, the “two highlighter method would also tie in wonderfully with the annotations. This would (almost) force the young readers to take the time to understand the material before they push on to towards the finish line. I believe that one of the most important goals for a teacher is to inspire a high quality level of reading – students should feel inspired to slow down for comprehension.

          I believe that this technique would also tie in well with the “fake reading” that Tovani mentions. Many readers in college classes are guilty of fake reading. However it is not enough to just skim the text and stumble across the words that you do not know. It is important that students are taught the importance of slowing down and looking up the words that they do not understand. By taking the time to do this, the students will be able to improve their reading. This does not have to be used just for the students that struggle either, each and every student would benefit from this practice.