Fill in the blank:
Reading is…
It’s important how you finish that sentence. The way in which we define the "act of reading" affects how we deliver instruction, how we design homework, and ultimately how we teach our kids to act and behave as readers.
Think about it, if we fill in the blank this way:
Reading is the ability to decode words, read those words at a certain speed with accuracy.
Or how about this:
Reading is an meaning making, problem solving process that gets better the more it is practiced across increasingly more complex text.
What would instruction and assessment look like if we defined reading as an act of engagement-engagement in the text, with the author, illustrator, photographer, engagement in the content, the context, the domain…?
What exactly does a reader need to know and do to fully engage in the act?
- Strategies: the words themselves do not produce meaning. And meaning, as it is delivered in most mediums does not come to us on a silver platter. We must be equipped to "dig it out". And in order to excavate deep meaning, readers need a repertoire of strategies; different than those we use just to pronounce and decode the words. Sounding it out just does not cut it when I am trying to figure out the authors big idea?
- Text that is Accessible- Like Goldilocks, we like things just right for our reading brain. When text is too hard, we disengage losing focus and motivation…it is just too much work! Likewise, when text is too easy, we get bored. We scurry along, but do not fully engage because not enough challenge is present. Engaged learning and engaged reading requires a text that is just right-not so difficult and demanding we shut down, but not so easy that our minds wander.
- Relevancy and Purpose: One of the first questions engaged readers ask themselves is: Why am I reading this? What is my purpose? How you read depends on your purpose. When readers are mindful of their purpose, they are able to make relevant connections and engagement follows.
If we define reading as not only a meaning-making, problem-solving process, but as an act of engagement, how does that change things for you? your students?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=bb9b68c8-db8f-4f3e-908a-baed081ffc27)
