Chapter 9

As future teachers, we all know the importance of vocabulary in reading. One of suggestions Beers gives is to teach students how to use the context as clues. Teachers often tell students to use context clues when trying to understand what a word means. A problem occurs when a struggling reader doesn’t know how to interact with a text and look at the context around the word. To me, this strategy is really important because readers of all ages look at the context in order to find clues about an unknown word. Readers will always struggle over words as they read difficult books in their lives. I think this strategy can not only improve a student’s vocabulary, but also help him or her later on in life with understanding different texts. I really like the use of graphic organizers as well. When I was in middle school, I was forced to copy vocabulary words and definitions every week. It was a waste of my time and it didn’t help me with my spelling. I think graphic organizers are creative ways of helping students visualize words and their meanings. I think graphic organizers would help students to have a better understanding of a word and when it would be used in a sentence.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 talks about different strategies teachers can use to get students thinking about a text even after they have finished reading it. One strategy, Somebody Wanted But So, allows students to restate the main character, plot, conflict, and resolution into a concise summary. I really liked this strategy because it allows the student to trace characters throughout the text and figure out the main event. It’s a really good way for students to work on identifying plots and conflicts within a text as well. Beers also mentioned a strategy called It Says-I Say that helps students with making inferences after they read. I think it’s a great visual for students to see how inferences can be made from a text. It allows them to compare what is happening in the book to what they are thinking.

Chapter 7

“You Mean You Make It Make Sense?”

Chapter 7 offered a lot of different strategies teachers can use to help students make sense of a text. At the beginning of the chapter, she gave a really good example of a student who didn’t know how you construct meaning from a text. The boy didn’t realize that there are different strategies you can use to help you understand a text. I think it’s important for teachers to remember that students who aren’t good readers don’t know what good readers do to help them make sense of a text. Beers talked about a partner strategy called Say Something. When students use Say Something, the students make comments about the text as they are reading it. I’ve never heard of this strategy before and I thought it was an interesting way to get students actively engaged in reading. I think it can be really useful too because it can help a student clarify what is happening in the text before the student continues on reading. I also thought the double-entry journals and the post-it notes were really neat ideas. I really liked the double entry journals because it’s a unique way for students to keep notes on the text and their reactions. I loved the idea of the post-it notes. I think that’s a great way for students mark passages and keep track of comments and questions within the book. I thought this chapter offered a lot of fun and useful strategies teachers can use within their classroom.

Chapter 5

In Chapter 5, Beers talks about helping students to make inferences as they read. In the beginning of the chapter, she gave two different classes the same passage to read and tell her what was going on. One class was successful at making inferences about what was happening in the text. The second class, which contained struggling readers, had a much more difficult time distinguishing what was happening in the passage. I really liked this example because it helped to show me how students figure out what is happening in a text. I haven’t really thought about how students learn to make inferences. I do it so often now that I don’t even think about what I’m doing as I’m reading. Beers also gave some strategies for teachers to use when trying to help students who struggle with making inferences. One example was to read a short passage aloud everyday and think aloud the inferences that I would make. Then have students decide what types of inferences I’m making based on what I said. She pointed out that the comments teachers make can help students to create certain inferences. I thought this was a really good idea because it’s really hard to show students what you’re doing when you make an inference. At least this way, students know what you’re thinking as your doing it.