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

I found it so refreshing to read Cris Tovani’s book, I read it, but I don’t get it. Ms. Tovani doesn’t pretend to have all the answers to reading problems, just some of them. She tells us through funny and heartwarming anecdotes, about her own learning and teaching experiences. Ms. Tovani wants to help students improve their reading comprehension, to make them excited to read further. Ms. Tovani explains that she too experienced trouble with reading in school. She worked hard to be a good student, but reading comprehension was a huge dilemma. The concept of “fake-reading” is something we all know about! By engaging our students with texts that are relevant and interesting, we can help them become avid readers.

This book is filled with real-life applications for those students who are having trouble with comprehension. Some readers can read the words, and not understand any of it. Ms. Tovani shows us ways to motivate the reader into finding those places that cause the disconnect and then addresses the issue. I love how Ms. Tovani shows examples of modeling by bringing in a current event that is disturbing, weird or shocking. The teacher makes a copy of the news report for each student, and a transparent copy to project on the board for the teacher. She then asks questions while the students make notes in the margin of their own copy. The students ask questions about the article, allowing for even more engagement on the topic. “Teaching Point: Good readers are curious about the world around them. Asking questions and wanting more information gives them a reason to read” (94). This is such a great tool, because the student is guided by the teacher’s modeling. She instructs them to ask questions, but to wait for the answers for the next day. This technique affords the student time to reflect about the article and the questions they want answered. By modeling what a successful reader does, these students will become independent readers of more complex texts.

Part 3 of I read it, but I don’t get it, is a section of Access Tools including: Double-Entry Diaries, Comprehension Constructors, and Coding Sheets. These are valuable strategies to engage any student with comprehending. I will be motivated to use these ideas in my future classroom, to help make life-long readers out of students.