Ch. 2 & 3- When Kids Can't Read

Ch 2 & 3 quotes:

• "remember that anyone can struggle given the right text"
• "dependent readers dont know what types of books they might enjoy, whihc authors might excite them, or what range of genres exists for them to read."
• "making mistakes is part of the learning process"
• "alliterate students are those students who can read, but choose not to read"
• "knowing that a student needs help with cognitive confidence doesn't pinpoint exactly what type of help is needed"
• "her repeated comments that reading is boring may be an indication that she has trouble visualizing the action."
• "good readers use their prior knowledge"
• "the goal of reading is comprehension"

Ch 2 and 3 Thoughts:

• I think that this first statement is so true. I think that anyone can struggle given the right text. I struggle all the time with text that is too complicated, or instruction manuals etc. It gets frustrating because it is like reading a foreign language in that I have no idea what some of the big words are, and some books use jargon that I do not even recognize.
• Dependent readers do not know what books they might enjoy or authors. I was a dependent reader for quite awhile and it took me forever to figure out that I just loved mysteries and stories that make your imagination just run. I heard a segment of Harry Potter read aloud, and until then I was so lost with the whole reading concept. After that I read independently because I knew what I wanted to read about.
• Making mistakes is DEFINITELY part of the learning process. We might think that we are perfect because we are teachers, but we learn just as much from our students as they learn from us so if they make a mistake it is important to remember that happens and will probably happen again.
• Alliterate students are those who choose not to read. For the most part, reading is a choice. If you want to read then you probably will, but if you hate reading and think it is just the worst thing then most likely you will not pick up a book even if it is required. The key is making sure students are wanting to engage in their reading and wanting to pick up a book.
• Knowing that a student needs help with cognitive confidence definitely does not pin point exactly what type of help might be needed for him. Many students struggle with the idea of having trouble reading because it is embarassing, and if they can not get comprhension which is the main focus of reading that can be embarassing as well. It is important to try and look at all aspect of what is making him struggle instead of just one.
• I do not know how many times I have heard the phrase, "I hate reading, it is so boring". If I had a nickel for everytime I have heard a student say that I definitely would have a full jar. I think that some kids think reading is boring because they cannot picture what is going on in the story. I think that drawing picture is a helpful thing to do because then there is something visual to look at while they read. Even just haivng them close their eyes and think of the scene for a minute is helpful. If kids just read, and nothing else their imaginations do probably tend to dwindle which does make reading quite boring.
• Good readers use their prior knowledge. While we can do as much as we can to develop their schema, good readers need to have this prior knowledge to help them develop comprehension.
• The goal of reading IS comprhension. Why do we read? We read because we want to know what happened in the book and because it is something we enjoy and sometimes not enjoy. To enjoy the book we have to know what is going on. This is all part of comprehension. It is the main goal of reading and it is what we want kids to be able to do after during and before they read. If it takes stopping after every chapter to talk about what happened, then so be it.