Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12

Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12

<p>Do your students often struggle with difficult novels and other challenging texts? Do they think one reading of a work is more than enough? Do they primarily comprehend at a surface-level, and are they frequently unwilling or unable to discover the deeper meaning found in multi-layered works? Do you feel that you are doing more work teaching the novel than they are reading it?</p><p>Building on twenty years of teaching language arts, Kelly Gallagher, author of <i>Reading Reasons</i>, shows how students can be taught to successfully read a broad range of challenging and difficult texts with deeper levels of comprehension. In <i>Deeper Reading</i>, Kelly shares effective, classroom-tested strategies that enable your students to:</p><ul><li>accept the challenge of reading difficult books;</li><li>move beyond a "first draft" understanding of the text into deeper levels of reading; </li><li>consciously monitor their comprehension as they read;</li><li>employ effective fix-it strategies when their comprehension begins to falter;</li><li>use meaningful collaboration to achieve deeper understanding of texts;</li><li>think metaphorically to deepen their reading comprehension;</li><li>reach deeper levels of reflection by understanding the relevance the book holds for themselves and their peers;</li><li>use critical thinking skills to analyze real-world issues.</li></ul><p>Kelly also provides guidance on effective lesson planning that incorporates strategies for deeper reading.</p><p>Funny, poignant, and packed with practical ideas that work in real classrooms, <i>Deeper Reading</i> is a valuable resource for any teacher whose students need new tools to uncover the riches found in complex texts.</p>