Reading

I like the list of things a good/fluent reader does. I forget that not everyone does all of those things. I have been known to ask people how they "see" characters or scenes of a story...only to find out that they don't visualize anything. They ONLY see the words. It is no wonder many people dislike reading for anything but fact finding.

It's funny to me that the experts always break reading down: pre, during, post, awareness of structure, graphic organizers etc. (And I do all of these things with my students.) However they push whatever worked for them best. When you boil down everything experts say everywhere, the best and only way to improve reading is to read more. I will continue to teach vocab strategies, scanning, glossing, post-it noting...use graphic organizers to help understand complex stories, organize plots etc. But I will also continue requiring students to read every week and give credit for EVERYTHING they read: books, papers, internet, cereal boxes...they need to read and read and read.