Tovani Blog

By middle school I was an above average reader. Certainly by high school I had mastered (for my age) the bulk of everything that Cris Tovani says good readers do. As a result those traits of a good reader have become instinctual to me; I don’t think about them. It is all so obvious to me now that not doing the basic things that we do to construct meaning never even occurs to me. This is why I immensely appreciate reading I Read It, But I Don’t Get It; Tovani helped me conceptualize my process for reading as well as create a framework for teaching others how to develop the same skills. I feel that one of my greatest assets as a teacher is the fact that I struggled in many aspects of school, reading aside. Because of this struggle, because many academic skills or content did not come naturally to me, I feel I have a better understanding of my students. After reading I Read It, But I Don’t Get It I have filled a gap in my perspective.

Obviously it is not just this element of perspective that gives the book value. The methods developed by Tovani are great. They will either help to solidify advanced reader’s conception of the process, or make that vital breakthrough for struggling readers. Thus, in my unit plan, I have devoted an entire day to teaching the lessons of Tovani’s book. At the moment I am working on a worksheet/pamphlet that is essentially more student focused excerpts from the book. The key components from the text I am including are the “fix it” strategies, how to find meaning in words through purpose, how to mark up a text, and the types of voice in your head.

This is the introduction I wrote for my handout: “Reading is a vital skill for simply functioning in society. Because of this, it is my responsibility to ensure that you meet the state standard for this skill in the 10^th grade. However, as in all things, for some reading is seemingly second nature, while for others it is an annoyingly difficult. The following hints and tips taken from Cris Tovani’s I Read It, But I Don’t Get It are lifelong strategies for reading; they will help you monitor your focus, “fix” confusion and, importantly, engage with the text. As you master focus and comprehension you will begin to engage with a text. To understand what I mean by engagement, it is helpful to think of reading not as a book talking at you, like a radio in your head, but rather a conversation between yourself and the book. Like I said, for some that may make perfect sense, while for others perhaps not. Either way, the only way to become a better reader is to actually read and do so with purpose. Purpose is what finds the meaning in words. What is purpose? Well, it is the reason you are reading. Before you read, it is good to establish this. The easiest means is to ask a question, in turn, forcing yourself to look for something in the text rather than recite off the words in your head. The information in this handout will help you with purpose and many other aspects of reading.”