Chris Tovani's I Read it, But I Don't Get it

One of my favorite things about the book I Read it, But I Don't Get it is the fact that Tovani brings up this the topic of good readers and bad readers straight away. This idea that people are just born with some sort of innate gift at things like sports, music, math, reading, and writing really pisses me off. You don't just hand a kid a ball, a guitar, or a typewriter and they are suddenly Michael Jordan, Jimmy Hendrix, or Ernest Hemingway because of genetics or fate. Becoming good at anything takes hours and hours of practice. It also takes guidance from those who have more knowledge about a given subject to help novices become masters. One of my favorite tools that Tovani uses is the "Marking Text" method. The idea of having students mark the text that they are reading as a way to keep them engaged in it is a fantastic idea. I'll admit that I struggle at times with my mind wandering when I am reading something that I'm not particularly interested in I think I will give this method a try next time that I have a text that I don't really connect with. Another of Tovani's idea's that I think would be a great one to use in a classroom is having students use two highlighters to mark what they understand in one color and what they don't understand in a second color. I think that this is a great idea for two reasons. The first is that it gives student's a visual representation of what they comprehend in a given text as well as what they don't get. The second reason is this makes student responsible for their learning; it also allows those who get specific parts to be a resource for their classmates. This book will be one that I refer back to once I begin teaching.