Media: 144 pp/paper
ISBN: 978-157110-376-7
Grade Range: K-12

Item No.: WEB0376

Price: $20.00
Flat-rate shipping $5.00

“Do I really have to teach reading?” This is the question many teachers of adolescents are asking, wondering how they can possibly add a new element to an already overloaded curriculum. And most are finding that the answer is “yes.” If they want their students to learn complex new concepts in different disciplines, they often have to help their students become better readers.

Building on the experiences gained in her own language arts classroom as well as those of colleagues in different disciplines, Cris Tovani, author of I Read It, but I Don’t Get It, takes on the challenge of helping students apply reading comprehension strategies in any subject. In Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, Cris shows how teachers can expand on their content expertise to provide instruction students need to understand specific technical and narrative texts. The book includes:

• 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;
• a variety of “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.

Contents
1. Introduction: "I'm the Stupid Lady from Denver…"
2. The "So What?" of Reading Comprehension
3. Parallel Experiences: Tapping the Mother Lode
4. Real Rigor: Connecting Students with Accessible Text
5. "Why Am I Reading This?"
6. Holding Thinking to Remember and Reuse
7. Group Work That Grows Understanding
8. "What Do I Do with All These Sticky Notes?"
9. "Did I Miss Anything? Did I Miss Everything":
Last Thoughts
Appendix
Bibliography

"This book is a wonderful resource for educators who teach their subjects to a diverse population with a wide range of reading levels."—School Library Journal, Curriculum Connections, Fall 2004

"Tovani has written a nicely approachable book that practices what she preaches."—Education Book Reviews, September 30, 2004

"This book deserves a place on all secondary educators' bookshelves and will have those who read it examining their own reading strategies by the end. Not only will their reading improve, but their students' reading will as well."—VOYA, June 2004

About the Author 
Cris Tovani taught elementary school for ten years before becoming a high school reading specialist and English teacher. In addition to teaching full-time, she is a nationally known consultant focusing on issues of reading and content comprehension in the high school classroom. Cris has also worked for many years as a staff developer for the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), the consortium that has received national acclaim for its work in reading comprehension reform. She is the author of the book I Read It, but I Don’’t Get It (Stenhouse 2000) and the videotape sets Thoughtful Reading (Stenhouse 2003), and Comprehending Content (Stenhouse 2004).