Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?

Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? This is a question many teachers ask, wondering how they can add a new element to an overloaded curriculum. The answer is yes; if teachers want their students to learn complex new concepts in different disciplines, they need to help develop their students’ reading skills.

In Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?: Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12, author Cris Tovani takes on the challenge of helping students apply reading comprehension strategies in any subject. Tovani shows how teachers can expand on their content expertise to provide the instruction students need to understand specific technical and narrative texts. Inside the book you’ll find:

• Examples of how teachers can model their reading process for students.
• Ideas for supplementing and enhancing the use of required textbooks.
• Detailed descriptions of specific strategies taught in context.
• Stories from different high school classrooms to show how reading instruction varies according to content.
• Samples of student work, including both struggling readers and college-bound seniors.
• Comprehension Constructors: guides designed to help students recognize and capture their thinking in writing while reading.
• Guidance on assessing students.
• Tips for balancing content and reading instruction.

Tovani’s humour, honesty, and willingness to share her own struggles as a teacher make this a unique take on content reading instruction that will be valuable to reading teachers as well as content specialists.