Reading+Comprehension

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Middle and high school teachers are required to cover vast amounts of matierial, so it is essential that students have the ability and the motivation to read on their own. However, few secondary teachers feel that they have the time or the expertise to teach students how to read. Secondary teachers are very adamant that have been trained to be specialists in their content area and not to be a reading specialist. Most teachers at the secondary level operate under the belief that by the time students reach their classrooms, they should already know how to read successfully. While that may be true, it is far from reality. Even high schoolers struggle with comprehending the myraid of texts put in front of them each day. At the most simple level, secondary teachers must teach their students to be better readers of their course material. =====

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The guru of adolescent reading comprehension is [|Cris Tovani]. Of course other names come to mind as well, such as [|Ellin Oliver Keene], [|Stephanie Harvey], and [|Susan Zimmermann], but for me, Tovani is the first person I would turn to. In 2006, I had the privilege of attending a workshop by Tovani in Buffalo, New York. Her groundbreaking books like //I Read It, But I Don't Get It// and //Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?// have inspired teachers across the globe to approach reading instruction in new and relevant ways for teens. For a brief look into Tovani's work and approach with teen readers, see this wireside chat: =====

Here are some other resources and handouts to aid you and your teen readers:
An informative ppt by [|Angela Stockman] used by Tovani to teach annotating text

Other good links:
[|Readers' Workshop] Better Readers Wiki

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 * AS REQUESTED BY MY NU STUDENTS, A LIST OF MAJOR WORKS THAT EVERY ENGLISH TEACHER SHOULD READ!