"I Read It, But I Don't Get It"


I was pleasantly surprised by Tovani's "I Read It, But I Don't Get It". We are taught not to judge a book by a cover but unfortunately I did not listen to the old cliche. The outside looked old and boring and the title didn't interest me at all. Man was I wrong! This book was so insightful and reminded me of myself in high school. I didn't realize that there were so many different types of "fake-reading". I think I related most to the "resistive reader". I loved reading but was never really interested in what we had to read for class. I could comprehend what we were reading in class but never enjoyed it. As a teacher you should know what the students are interested in and try to apply that information into a lesson. And even though teachers are often required to teach certain texts they should find activities to engage the students in the lesson. This text will help me immensely while teaching my English classroom.

A specific activity that I will use again to teach purpose is the "House" activity. When I read through it the first time I was very confused and then when the teacher asked the different questions about what a homeowner might see compared to a robber it was like and "ah-hah!" moment. I think this will really help students who have a difficulty in finding purpose.

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