I Read It, But I Don't Get It

With todays technology it is really hard for teachers to make students read because students can just go online where all their work is done for them. Sparknotes and Cliffnotes make it really easy for students to get away without reading the actual text. Cris Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It says its important to make reading purposeful. If students don't care about the reading then they will be less likely to read it. When students know the purpose of why they are reading something then they will know what to look for and have an easier time comprehending the text. It doesn't even have to be an English class, if a student is reading text for science class they should also know what to look for and not just try to memorize everything. Just because a student can read the words does not mean that the student can read. Students need to be able to comprehend what they read. A lot of students in high school struggle with this problem and that is why every teacher should be a reading teacher outside of their subject. Reading a scientific text is different than reading a novel. Teachers need to make sure students have the background knowledge they need to read the text successfully. Also a teacher should never think that it is to late to teach a student how to read, Tovani learned how to read after high school.

One of my favorite parts in the book is when Tovani talks about having questions when reading. Tovani says that students need to form questions in their mind before reading, during reading, and after reading. Most of the questions might not even get answered, but it forces the students to think about the text and keeps them motivated to read.