Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Chapter 7: Constructing Meaning

Again, this chapter is about how independent readers actively construct meaning from a text while dependent readers don't. In order to help dependent students learn how to do this, the book introduces many reading strategies. Some of the strategies are common ones that pretty much everyone knows: rereading, questioning the text, etc. A few many people have probably done but didn't know the name of the strategy, such as "Say Something" or "Think Aloud." I hadn't actually heard of "Say Something" before, but after reading the description, I've realized that use this strategy a lot, especially when I get lost in a text.

As with other strategies discussed either in the book or in class, we need to model often how to use these strategies and how to use them effectively. If you tell a student to reread, he or she may do it. However, if the teacher doesn't explain why to reread or give a prompt such as Mr. Bell does in the example, then the student is most likely just wasting time by moving their eyes back and forth.

I also agree with the book on the idea that some of the texts we read in school should be reread in a later grade. As we grow and mature, we start to view the world differently and this can also change how we read the book. We're doing something similar in my English Studies class. My professor had us chose one text to use for the entire semester, forcing us to read the text through different criticisms and with each new paper I write, I find something I didn't notice before. Or I think about a character differently. I definitely think that rereading is one of the most important strategies because it can be so effective...if you use it correctly.

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