1. I R EAD I T, BUT I D ON ’ T G ET I T : C OMPREHENSION S TRATEGIES F OR A DOLESCENT R EADERS B Y : C RIS T OVANI Professional Development Presentation By: Janel Dowling and Trish Warner

2. Cris Tovani – Why should we listen to her? Features of her book “Aha” moments I wonder... Modeling Strategy: Double-Entry Diaries

3. T EXT F EATURES Real life experiences Examples citing current theories of comprehension instruction “What Works” Appendix with reproducible materials

4. “A HA M OMENT ” #1: F AKE R EADING Sharing personal experiences Ways to avoid fake reading “Literary Histories” “What Good Readers Do” – student generated “Some kids are born good readers and some kids aren’t. I’ve always been a bad reader and I always will be. It’s too late for me.” – Courtney (Tovani, 2000).

5. “A HA M OMENT ” #2: H OW D O I K NOW I’ M S TUCK ? No voice No camera Mind wanders Can’t remember Questions not answered Lost track of story elements

6. “A HA M OMENT ” #3: S TRATEGIES TO “F IX U P ” C ONFUSION Connect Predict Stop and think Question Reflect in writing Visualize Use print conventions Retell Reread Notice patterns and text structure Adjust reading rate

7. M ODELING S TRATEGY : I W ONDER... “The good news is that questioning is a strategy that can be taught in connection with any subject, to students of all abilities. Readers who are taught how to question the text can infer and clear up confusion better than those who simply decode words and accept ideas unchallenged,” (Tovani, 2000).

8. M ODELING S TRATEGY : U SING D OUBLE -E NTRY D IARIES Direct quote from text and page number Thinking options This reminds me of I wonder I infer/I think this means This is important because I am confused because The picture in my head looks like

9. U SING D OUBLE -E NTRY D IARIES : C ONTENT A REA A PPLICATIONS List interesting facts or details Confusing part in text Term/Vocabulary word causing confusion What is the author’s message? What I did to try to get unstuck What I know about the term/confusion

10. F INAL T HOUGHTS “Comprehension is messy. There is no clear-cut path that the brain takes when making sense. There are many roads the mind can travel as it burrows through layer after layer of meaning. Good readers don’t read every document, book, or magazine article the same way. They are aware of their thinking and consciously apply reading strategies that will help them cope with the demands of the task.” (Tovani, 2000).