"Did I Miss Anything? Did I Miss Everything?"

In the last chapter of the book, Tovani spends it tying up any lose ends. She starts by talking about the importance of determining what is important when we are teaching. She describes an incident that occurred at her school and that she received a note in her mailbox because of it. In addition to this, some students came in slap boxing each other, some sat down and went to sleep, and one girl came in crying that her foster parents just put her back into the system. Amidst all this chaos, Tovani writes, "The constant and unexpected demands of this job stress us out. It's no wonder our students have trouble separating unimportant details from critical information when they are reading. Everyone faces this challenge throughout life, and we must take the same advice we give to students: focus on what is important and, as much as possible, ignore the rest."

Tovani goes on to say that she usually ends up deciding what is important by the moment. The way we make good choices is when we have a clear purpose in mind. For example, Tovani hear a rumor going around that the standardize test was going to have quite a bit of poetry. She decided it was in the best interest of her students to go over some poetry. But Tovani approached the lesson like any other lesson. She demonstrated how all the techniques she taught them while reading could be applied when reading poetry. This goes to show that when you give students concrete tools for reading and comprehension, the students can then take those and apply it to all areas. It is important to demonstrate how this is done so that a student doesn't have to waste time questioning if they are doing it right because they would have already had practice and feel confident.

Conversation Calendars

Another great idea that Tovani introduces in her book is the use of Conversation Calendars. As teachers, we really have to get to know our students well enough so that we know what they need as learners. One way to do this is by having students fill out Conversation Calendars. On a sheet of paper divided in half, the days of the week are written with collumns for room to write. The top half is for the student and the bottom is for the teacher. Students are asked to write anything about themselves or ask questions. This does not have to be school related. Then the students are to give themselves points for the day and the teacher is to respond daily. Tovani talks about how important it is to make the calandars worth something because students won't value the time it takes to write. "By giving them points for participating, I don't have to lower my standards in the other assignments that are more demanding." I think this is a great idea and one that creates a little bit of a cushion for struggling students. I am always looking for new ways to get to know the students because you really don't have a lot of time to assess them. This is a great way to get to know their primary discours a little better and allows for you to help make those connections.

WHAT WORKS:
"Decide what you want to assess. Give a variety of ways for students to demonstrate understanding. Base your assessments on what you value. One test won't measure everything. Good readers know there are many ways for them to demonstrate understanding. They recognize that not everything is equally important, so they give time and effort to what is valued."

Small Groups

In this chapter, Tovani discusses small groups and their importance. Tovani writes, "There is an art to discussion, and people can get better at it if they have timely feedback. My students appreciate that I point out to them what they are doing well. They need to know what is working so they can continue to do it." I love that Tovani discusses the importance of feedback and positive feedback at that. If we dont praise and encourage, students will become discouraged and shut down. They need good feedback to power them to continue. Students thrive when they get recognition from their teachers, it makes them feel like they are apart of something. It is their education and they need to feel as though they are apart of it and not that they are doing meaningless assignments. Collaboration is key; it's not just for teachers but should be between all that are involved in the education process.

A great way to model small groups is role playing. Tovani was having a hard time getting her students to commit and participate in their small groups. She realized that her students weren't understanding how important it is to come prepared. To demonstrate this, Tovani engaged in role play with another teacher. Tovani was the student who didn't have her book, didn't do the reading, and was more interested in talking with her friends. She had her students record observations about why the group didn't work and what has to happen for it to work. It only took about 10 minutes for the entire class to be on the same page. I have been saying this throughout my blog; it is so important to demonstrate what exactly you expect your students to do. If you don't, you are setting them up to fail.

At the end of every chapter, Tovani has a section entitled "What Works." I want to share two of those points.
1. "Show kids how to discuss. Use real-world examples. Let them know that a multitude of responses can be acceptable. Help them see different options for sharing thinking. Good readers use talk and collaboration with peers to extend their thinking about text."
2. "Give students specific feedback: Debrief with them what you notice about their discussions. Share what students did well, and let them know how they could improve. Capture their quotes whenever possible. Begin with short periods of discussion followed by immediate feedback. Increase discussion time as students improve. Good readers improve the way they talk and listen to peers when given specific feedback. They use observations of both strengths and weaknesses to inform their work with peers."

Holding Thinking

There are two different strategies for holding thinking that Tovani discusses that really caught my attention.  The First is a Double-Strategy, Double-Entry Diary.  This can be used with any content area. One collumn is for the quote and the other is a place to write a connection to that quote. Below that is two more collumns. Again, one is for the quote but the second is for a question.  This diary would be useful for students who are constantly complaining that they don't have any connection to a topic.

The second strategy that I really liked was a Quad-Entry Diary. The example she used was for an algebra class. The first collumn was for the property, the second for a picture, the third to write what you know about that property and the fourth was for what you didn't know. I think using something like this in a social studies class would be very helpful.

Tovani adds, "Share with your students what you do to help yourself remember what you read. Perhaps you write in the margins; maybe you jot notes to yourself. Notice wha tyou do as an expert reader of your contect to set a purpose, and share that with your students. Good readers rely on experts to show them how to negotiate unfamiliar text. Let them see how you ask questions, adjust your reading rate, and not your thinking so that you can return to it later."

Everything in this book goes back to padagogy. We have to go back to the basics and start to teach students from there. The word literacy is most often oversimplified. We forget that reading isn't innate, it is learned.  And because it is learned, we have to teach every aspect of it, even how to mark a text or ask a question.

Remembering What You Read

Tovani spends a considerable amount of time talking about how to get students to think while they read. It is important to mark the text as you read because, let's face it, most students will NOT go back and reread. Tovani gives certain guidelines when it comes to marking text

• Write the thinking next to the words on the page that cause you to have the thought
• If there isn't room on the text to write, draw a line showing the teacher where the thinking is written
• Don't copy the text; respond to it
• Merely underlining text is not enough. Thinking about the text must accompany the underlining.
• There is no one way to respond to the text. Here are some possible options: Ask a question, make a connection to something familiar, give an opinion, draw a conclusion, make a statement.

Tovani then writes, "Some of these points seem obvious to us as adults, but I find that if I am not explicit about what I want, I don't get what I want."  This is what Lea and Street were discussing in their article. Teachers must be explicit in their instructions and guide their students every step of the way. Tovani also adds a great point that I tend to lose sight of. Using student examples in a positive way are more effective than adult examples. Tovani writes how she asks her students to complete a writing assignment and the next day she puts up examples of where the class should be.  She mentions that it is a good technique to honor kids' thinking and to begin rebuilding shattered self-esteem for struggling students. I wish that when I was in high school some of my teachers would have done this. It wasn't until a few semesters into college that I began to gain some confidence in my writing.

Why Am I Reading This??

Determining a purpose for reading seems to be a reoccurring theme, especially among high school students.  Tovani writes, "Recognizing that purpose often determines what is important and what a reader remembers has major implications for content instruction. It means that teachers have to be clear in their reasons for assigning the reading. Students need to know what those reasons are so they can better determine what is important. Just because we have internalized a number of reasons why reading enriches our lives doesn't mean we should assume our students have done the same."  I think this is an important point. Students want to know how this is ever going to help them in the 'real world.' Once students find that purpose, they will remember the information and be able to apply that to other areas of their life.  This is what Gee was referring to. We must take on our students as apprentices and help them find connections in order for them to filter the information back into their primary discourse and on the path to fluency with their secondary discourses.

One way Tovani suggests that teachers define purpose before teaching, is by filling out an instructional purpose worksheet. The purpose of this is to help teachers focus their thinking about their lesson and to anticipate any trouble that the students might have with it. This helps to cut out components of their planned instruction because it distracts from the core objectives. Tovani writes, "Be specific about your instructional purpose. Give students a lens for reading the piece. Good readers know a purpose will help them focus their reading and determine what is important.. they also know that purpose determines how they read the material.

Another great topic that Tovani discusses during this chapter is, "How do I turn my reciting voice off and my conversation voice on?" At first glance, I thought about skimming through this part...I am sooo glad that I didn't. Tovani explains, "Many times when students don't have a purpose for their reading, their minds wander." This is SO true for me. Tovani goes on to define these two voices. The reciting voice is the one that reads the words but thinks about other things. The conversation voice is the sound of you talking back to the text. Sometimes the voice argues with the author; sometimes the voice asks questions or agrees. It is important to make students aware of this voice because when the reciting voice is turned on, there is a reason for it. You as the teacher have to understand this and give the students the tools to recognize it, and eventually turn the conversation voice on in its place. It all comes down to setting a purpose. If we have a clear purpose for reading, we are going to be engaged and using our conversation voice. Tovani ends the chapter by saying, "Decide how your students will use what they are reading. Explain to them how they will use the information when they are finished. Good readers approach assigned text with a result in mind. They consider what they will have to do with the information after reading."

Accessible Text

Ok I will admit it.  When I was in high school, I did everything in my power so that I didn't have to read!! My high school was huge, over 2,500 students huge.  Most teachers have anywhere from 25 to 40 students in their classroom.  They had their required textbook and lectured directly out of that.  I mean who can cover all that information with so many students without lecturing? Tovani makes a great point about accesible text. She says, "When I use text that is interesting, well written, and appropriately matched to the level of my students, my life as a teacher gets easier."  Sometimes we forget that we don't have to just go by the textbook that we are to teach from.  Students get bored and turned off when the textbook is the only form of text.  By continuously introducing new texts that are engaging and informational, we can keep our students attention.  Tovani also writes, "If we are sonstantly giving students text that is too hard for them to read, they may get through it, but probably not without cheating.  Many of my students who are struggling readers feel defeated before they even begin.  Just because students are tenth graders doesn't mean they are all capable of reading a geomety textbook.  I must consider how much reading they have done in the past, and how well they read now."

It is important to see students not just as your class, but as individuals as well.  When teachers offer reading material or other options, students can feel comfortable where they are now.  Once they feel comfortable and confident, they can begin to expand their knowledge and advance.  Sometimes we will have students who come into the classroom with a fourth grade reading level and they are in the ninth grade.  For these students, if they are not given alternate assignments, they will most likely continue on the same path and even fall further behind.  Like Tovani said, these students end up cheating or failing.  It is crucial that these students are given the opportunity to progress, even if that means going from a fourth grade reading level to a sixth grade reading level.  They are acquiring a secondary discourse and that is no easy task.  We have to create an environment that fosters this growth and doesn't hold it back, no matter what level they happen to be at. 

One of the ways Tovani suggests that you offer accessible texts is through Text Sets.  I like this idea because it helps all readers on all levels advance.  Tovani add that she purchased bins with lids and labels them according to authors, genres, themes (elementary), famous scientists/mathematicians, famous explorers/poloticians, famous wars, etc (secondary).
Text Sets:

• contain a wide varitey of written texts;
• contain materials that vary in length, difficulty, and text structure;
• contain examples of text that are relevent, interesting, and accessible to most students;
• give students several options for obtaining information;
• provide opportunities for students to practice reading strategies and learn content information