What are your thoughts??

In chapter 6, Tovani emphasizes the importance of helping our students find the correct method(s) for them to put their thoughts onto a paper. She does speak about the traditional stick notes and highlighter methods, which at the beginning of their used don’t tend to be completely effective, but she does state that the more they are used and modeled by the teacher for their correct used, they often succeed for their purpose. For Tovani, the importance of students writing down their thoughts and or questions is a fundamental key to see the progress a student has gotten in their reading and writing skills, because “…asking questions is a signal that you are constructing meaning. Readers who don’t ask questions are often disengaged and unable to remember what they’ve read” (pg: 80).

But besides these useful methods, Tovani also integrates other methods that she believes are just as good as the good ol’ highlighter. The first method she talks about was that of “whole-group thinking” which is the placing of student’s individual work on a “public” chart. This posting Tovani says will begin the stepping stone process that students need to learn how to mark important text in their reading for future reference; “when some students are having difficulty seeing a strategy in use, I chart other students’ thinking” (pg: 75). I do believe this is a useful tool for students understanding of the options they have to mark down their reading thoughts; it is a really good way of creating a good class environment where this allows peer support. But from my perspective her “comprehension constructor” method directs much more of the students thinking process, it “…help[s] students name their thinking and make it visible” (pg: 76) as the teacher develops these sheets with in mind “…how [he/she/] would read the piece and what [he/she] would need to do as a reader to get through it” (76).

I would have to say that the “double-entry diary” is one of my favorite forms for students to put down their thoughts on paper, especially because it easily can be used for any class’ subject. I like that students can extract the quotes that provoked them thoughts or questions and write them down onto a table, where then they would write down their “connection” or question in the adjacent box. From this step, students could get together and discuss their thoughts and findings, “all readers can benefit from the talk of others…they will have the support of the group and can try ideas with others” (pg: 84). On a final thought, I must say that reading this reminded me of these methods being taught to me during my grade school education; I was gaining lifelong skills without really knowing, which is very impressive, and proves that these methods do in fact work.