Reflection #5

Tovani Chp. 5&6

Chapters 5 and 6 in Tovani's book seemed to all come back to the idea of purpose and/or the value of being explicit.  The chapters talk about how important it is for students to be aware of the purpose for any reading that they do in the classroom.  Purpose allows students to zone in on what is important and ensures their preparation for any after-reading expectations that the teacher may have.  I think that the importance of purpose extends way beyond reading and into any assignment.  I have seen over and over again this year during my internship, students who are unmotivated because they are not given purpose and do not see the benefit of engagement in assignments.  I have also seen, though, the difference in their willingness to participate when they are given explicit instruction and guidance before and during assignments and begin to understand how their participation will benefit them.

Finally, these chapters give many different strategies for engaging in text through annotation.  Whether it be a guided reading worksheet, highlighters, sticky notes, or margin writing, students benefit from being required to interact with the text.  They have to turn off their "reciting voice" and turn on their "conversation voice".  I laughed when reading the part of the chapters that described these two voices because I knew immediately what those voices sounded like in my own reading experience.  Never had I thought to recognize those voices as important or to mention them to my students.