How Smart Readers Think

As I was taking the reading portion of the GACE exam, I remember reading the passage to each question over and over again. I spent an estimated time of five minutes on just one question just trying to understand what it was saying and what the question was asking. Frustrated and confused, I broke the passage a part and chose the answer I felt best fit. After reading this chapter on how smart readers think, all I could think about was the time that I took that test. I could also relate it to all the unwanted reading assignments I have had throughout my school years. It was hard to get through some of them and have a full understanding of what it was talking about when I gazed off half way through it. I get to the end of the passage and I think to myself, okay, what did I just read? Then I have to read over it again. This happens all the time in classrooms. If a student hates science, they will probably never enjoy a reading assignment for that subject, nor will they take the time to fully understand the material. I also find students who are really fast readers and they rush to get through the readings and then they don’t know anything about what they read because they didn’t take the time to read and understand. There is a difference between reading to get it done, and reading to understand. I worked with a fourth grader not too long ago and she struggled with reading. She would read the book but when I asked her questions afterwards she wouldn’t know the answers. Because she didn’t like to read she tried to finish the book quickly and did not get a full understanding. This happens in so many classrooms. It is important for all teachers to break down their reading assignments to their students. The more they understand reading strategies and the material, the more successful they will be.