CSU's Expository Reading and Writing

 

As an experienced reader, I forget how much work actually goes into reading. It's not about simply reading the words. When you read, you actually prepare to read. You generally take the time to ask yourself what the purpose of your reading is, what are you expecting from the text, you ask yourself if you have any questions beforehand, and then you scan the text looking for subtitles, italicized and bolded words, pictures, graphs, and more, all before you sit down and begin reading the first sentence. Then, you begin to read, deciphering the meaning of words, how the author is construing such words, and what the meaning and purpose are behind the words the author has provided. But that's not all. Then, you reflect on what you have read. This gives you a chance to see if you are truly comprehending the meaning of the text. A good way to do so is to try and summarize the text, picking out the key aspects and analyzing them for meaning.

These are all skills that must be taught to our students. It's easy to connect this back to I Read It, But I Don't Get It in the sense that a lot of teachers don't expect that they have to teach kids how to read since they are in the secondary schooling system now, but that isn't the case. I feel like learning how to read is a continuous process. Learning to analyze is a complicated process that doesn't come overnight. Part of the problem is that kids HATE reading, so they see no reason to advance their skill level. Goal number one: get kids to love reading. If I can't do that, get them to respect reading. If they can at least respect it, they'll find the value in it and hopefully put more effort into working on their skill level.