Synthesis Blog #1- How Smart Readers Think

After reading through the chapter in Subjects Matter, it is kind of frightening how much I connected to what the authors were describing. The authors of this book describe how hard it is sometimes for students to sit down and focus on a reading and then be able to comprehend what they just read. More often than not, this task is hard if not impossible for some students. I would consider myself included in this group as I am not the best reader nor can I comprehend very well.

I found it interesting that they are different "ways"of reading: clunk or click. The writers of the text describe "clicking" as "smooth, unobstructed reading"; whereas, "clunking" is where one has to be "more conscious and visible" when reading the assigned text (Daniels & Zemelman, Subjects Matter, p. 28). These two ways of reading and processing the information help explain why certain material is easier to read to a student than another. For example, if a student is really into baseball and he or she is reading a novel about Jackie Robinson (an infamous baseball player) than it would be easier for him or her to read and comprehend what the book is explaining
rather than a book over the history of the Americas.

Therefore, as a future teacher, it is critical that I create assignments that implement both reading and what my students find a particular liking in, in order to keep them engaged in the class. If they find the subject material hard and/or confusing I "will provide them tools and activities that help them question, interpret, and harvest their responses as they go" (Daniels & Zemelman, Subjects Matter, p. 41). I believe this excerpt is crucial in order to keep students engaged while in our classroom. Most of the time, students quickly lose interest (and hope) once they do not understand what they are reading. If we, as teachers, can provide tools to help them understand and comprehend, I believe the students academic life and life outside of school will be much better off.

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