Tovani, Cris (2004)
Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?: Content, Comprehension, Grades 6-12.
Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.
Cris Tovani's Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? gives the initial impression that its focus is to give teachers who typically don't teach reading the tools to incorporate reading into their instruction. Underlying this purpose is a premise that by engaging students in reading, teachers can bring students into a more participatory role in their own learning.
Instead of just offering a collection of strategies and solutions, Tovani often demonstrates uses of techniques by tracing her own thinking processes as she, the teacher, struggled to address real-life scenarios in her classes. In doing this, she models very doable approaches to teaching where the teacher can share some of the burden of thinking with students. One of the later chapters on group work is especially successful as Tovani illustrates how students can help establish norms for effective group work.
It's probably not a coincidence that many of the chapter titles contain questions ("Why am I Reading This?" "What Do I Do With All These Sticky Notes?" "Did I Miss Anything?"). Teaching students how to question is the common thread throughout each section, and Tovani consistently shows its effectiveness. She utilizes a variety of techniques that encourage students to become involved with their text. She also stresses the importance of accessible text, either by not selecting unapproachable works in the first place or by using supplemental readings, such as a related newspaper article, to help students find meaning in difficult works.
All in all, Tovani has written a nicely approachable book that practices what she preaches. Supplemental information is provided as side notes within chapters, scenarios are written to prompt questions in the reader's mind and chapters end with a selection of teaching points for emphasis. Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? isn't just about teaching students, but about teaching ourselves.
Pages: 138
Price: $19.50
ISBN: 1571103767
Reviewed by Melissa Cast, University of Nebraska at Omaha
