Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is called Parallel Experiences: Tapping the Mother Lode. This chapter was interesting because Tovani begins by discussing how the math teachers were less than pleased to work with her. Since I am studying to be a math teacher, I could almost see where they were coming from. She goes on to discuss how students are expected to read graphs and scales, especially in the standardized tests. She discusses how important it is for students to learn how to read different types of text. A student could be an honors english student, but completely unable to comprehend a word problem in math or a graph in science. She worked with the teachers to help them to understand that they need teach the students the most efficient way to read texts in their given content areas.

Another effective strategy she talks about is teachers focusing on how they read and think about their given content area. This is a really great time for teachers to model how they do this, because the students will most likely better comprehend the material.

Tovani then discusses how she gives teachers challenging pieces of text to read at her workshops. This is a great approach because the teachers are pulled out of the comfort zone that is their content area. She generally gives them a piece that looks as if it is written in Latin. This is effective because the teachers and put in the same shoes as students who are unsure of what they are reading and why. For teachers to be able to teach their students how to read, they need to be able to understand the students struggles and why.

Modeling how to stay with a text is also important because often, students are unable to keep up with what they find boring in the piece. She notes that having background knowledge of what or who they are reading about could really help them to better comprehend the text.