Fake reading and comprehension

Tovani is concerned about the comprehension abilities of adolescent readers. Why does Tovani talk about "fake reading"? How does this relate to the expectations and purposes for reading that she goes on to discuss? What do these have to do with comprehension?

Tovani talks about “fake reading” because she recognizes some children pass through school without learning how to read. Just as she did in school, these children find that “fake reading” can get them through the day. Identifying this strategy, the reader is given instruction on how to help these children. Tovani makes the case that reading comprehension is an essential life skill everyone needs to have upon leaving high school.

According to her, the expectation for reading is that students engage in reading, comprehend what they read, know how to construct meaning from text, and have gained these reading skills in elementary school. As these are the expectations, “fake reading” is the strategy students use so that they appear to have these skills. Tovani presents the idea that the purposes for reading are dependent on the child. In chapter three she details children are reading for a purpose that makes the reading important to them. To illustrate the importance of having a purpose before reading, she presented the kids with a passage from Pichert and Anderson (1977) entitled The House. It is a great passage for illustrating the idea that people reading for different purpose will extrapolate different meaning from the text. Throughout this section, she is telling the students who “fake read” that they can read and just need tools and a purpose.

Expectations and purposes for reading seamlessly transition into reading comprehension. First she busts expectations that students are going to understand what they read. She emphasizes to the students that it is important for them to realize when they don’t understand the text, or when their inner voices are not focused. After acknowledging they are stuck, the children need tools. This addresses the purpose for reading in that the students use the tools so that they can comprehend what is read.

Tovani does a great job describing what happens as one reads. She describes the inner voices, and how the voices impact reading. I love her list of tools for “fixing” confusion: “make a connection between the text and your life, make a prediction, stop and think about what you have already read, ask yourself a question and try to answer it… adjust your reading rate” (p. 51). Tovani makes the case that comprehension doesn’t just happen. There are things happening within the reader that is bringing forth the comprehension.

Teaching comprehension strategies

How are these two readings similar to each other and how are they different? You might explore this question in a global sense or you might consider a few specific points of comparison. Additionally, what aspects of the Optimal Learning Model are evident in the readings? Why are think alouds so important in comprehension strategy instruction? Have you seen this type of instruction in your placement? What is similar or dissimilar?

Cooper refers to reading strategies as “strategies for constructing meaning” (p. 139) whereas Routman refers to similar strategies as strategies for comprehension (p. 118). The two lists presented are remarkably similar. The only place they differ is where Cooper adds the eighth strategy, evaluating. This strategy is detailed as “readers continually decide whether the text they are reading is interesting or whether the arguments made in the text are credible” (p. 153). Looking further into Cooper’s description, evaluation aligns with many of the other strategies already on the list. Therefore, I’m left with the assumption evaluation may be combined with asking questions and making inferences on the list of strategies. Again, looking closer, evaluation is meant to develop critical thinking within readers. Stepping into a global frame for a moment, Cooper and Routman are identical. Both of them agree comprehension strategies need to be taught in context, and they are necessary skills for students to learn.

I’ve alluded to the integration of the Optimal Learning Model with teaching comprehension strategies. More explicitly, the OLM follows easily with both of these readings. Both authors would agree the strategies need to be taught explicitly and modeled by the teacher. Having the teacher initially model the strategies, with eventual transitioning of responsibility to the students, aligns with the OLM. I like Routman’s point on page 121, that teachers need to make their reading and thinking process, think alouds, visible to the students.

I believe think alouds are important in comprehension strategy instruction, because they allow students to see how teachers apply the strategies. So much learning is done through observation. It allows students to watch and think through the strategies with the teacher. The students can then come to mimic the strategies, and then move into understanding and applying the strategies.

I have seen some, but not a lot, of think alouds done at my placement. Many of the think alouds are performed when the teacher is focusing on visualizing texts. Visualization seems to be emphasized more than any of the other strategies. I believe it is more focused on because the teacher believes it is powerful and helpful for comprehension. However, I will ask the teacher this week why she uses this strategy often and whether/how she teaches the other comprehension strategies. From these readings, I am left to conclude all the strategies are essential to learn, and some students will prefer which strategies they choose to use.

Showing you are a reader

Routman lists five things she does to ensure students become excellent readers (p. 43). Choose one of these five. Support it with examples from Routman chapters 1-4, the optimal learning model, Cambourne's conditions of learning, and/or examples from your placement (or non-examples if applicable). In other words, make a case for this point's importance.

Five things to ensure students become excellent readers (Routman):
Demonstrate that I am a reader.

Provide an excellent classroom library.

Let students choose books they want to read and give them time to read them.

Teach strategies students need to know to process and understand text.

Evaluate students regularly, giving them feedback and helping them set goals.

I believe the most important thing a teacher can do is demonstrate that they are a reader. Children are observant and influenced by what the adults in their lives do, or don’t do. As such if we want children to become excellent readers, we need to model the behavior. More support and justification for demonstrating that you are a reader can be found throughout Routman.

For instance, demonstrating reading and modeling the behavior ties closely to step one of the optimal learning model. The teacher is holding responsibility and showing the students what is expected. This is the beginning point for the teacher to gradually handover the practice to the student.

Additional justification lies within Cambourne’s conditions of learning. I have already discussed the demonstration, but leading also correlates to immersion and expectation. It leads to conclude a teacher that shows they are a reader should expect the children to become readers and will have the opportunity to immerse the children in reading.

Further support is found within Routman’s chapter 2, bond with your students, and chapter 3, share your reading life. In chapter 2 Routman essentially outlines the importance of building a caring community and connecting with the interests of your students. As you show your students your interest, they will come to explore yours. As I pointed out previously, children are influenced by the adults in their lives, and as such, to develop excellent readers, the children should come to find their teacher is a reader. This can be accomplished as Routman demonstrates in chapter 3. The teacher can show what they are reading, who they like reading, and what they will read in the future.

I’ve outlined four reasons it is important for teachers to demonstrate, for their students, that they are readers. As teachers share their readings, students will see reading plays a role in life.

Learning to spell with context, conceptual domains, and reasoning by analogy

What aspect of spelling instruction mentioned in this article do you see playing out in your placement? Pick one aspect to describe and discuss how it works with kids.

There are many facets of spelling instruction discussed by Templeton and Morris (1999) which I see in my sixth grade elementary school placement. These aspects I see include: conceptual domain (p. 106); new words introduced through readings (p. 107); teachers pointing out morphemic aspects of words (p. 107); invented spelling (p. 108); reading, writing, and examination of words (p. 108); not teaching spelling through rules (p. 108); organizing the examination of words (p. 109); modeling reason by analogy (p. 109); and assessment by application (p. 110). I would like to examine how new words are introduced in the students’ readings.

My children are reading books they pick which are meant to be read mostly efficiently and with most of the words understood. “Most” and “mostly” mean that the readings are pushing the students just beyond their mastery, just beyond their development level, the books are Just Right Books. Templeton and Morris (1999) are working from the same theory Just Right Books were based upon. That theory is- learning new words should occur within the books the children are reading. Learning is occurring within context and not forced through rote memorization.

Similarly, the teacher reads to the class, on occasion, short stories she as selected which are appropriate for the developmental level of most of the kids and introduces a new vocabulary word. Through reading the story, the teacher is placing the word into context and introducing the new word. This opportunity could also be used for examining conceptual domains of words. The teacher could lead the class in examining the words “humanity” for instance, and show its similarity to “humane” and “human.” This models for the students conceptual domains which the students could use when they confront a new word in their own readings. The teacher could also use the opportunity to model for the children reasoning by analogy. She could examine similar words in sound or meaning and show how she could use this information for spelling. Learning conceptual domains and reasoning by analogy gives students approaches they may use for their own spelling.