Thoughtful Reading

Teachers of adolescent readers face many challenges. Some students are skilled at decoding text but have few strategies for understanding complex genres. Others have entered their teen years struggling to decode even the simplest books and articles. Through her highly successful book, I Read It, but IDon't Get It, Cris Tovani, a high school teacher in Denver, Colorado, has provided welcome advice to teachers on the reading strategies that worked in her classroom.

Now, Cris' practical and inspiring ideas for teaching reading come to life in the video series, Thoughtful Reading.

This four-part series shows Cris working with a wide range of students, from college-bound seniors to students who have been referred to her classroom because of their struggles with reading. You'll see Cris leading the whole class, launching small-group activities, thinking through instructional design, teaching individual students, and assessing learner needs and strengths. The series includes examples of how to: design small-group instruction;teach students to work together in groups;initiate one-on-one conferences with students;teach comprehension strategies to the whole class;help students learn to monitor their reading through notes, logs, and discussions;create "comprehension constructors" and other instruction tools that link reading, writing, and thinking;promote student independence through whole-class discussions and student presentations;provide a range of genres to meet the needs of diverse students.

Prepare to enter a remarkable high school classroom where students who are reluctant to read are developing new skills and redefining their sense of themselves as readers. You'll leave with a wealth of ideas for instruction, energized by new possibilities for helping students.