Deeper Reading: Chapter Four

Is he actually suggesting that students would reread a novel or challenging text?

I really like the examples he uses in the text. He uses Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Lord of the Flies, and other works that I would actually use in class. This makes the text engaging and practical for me.

The idea of acknowledging, even encouraging, reader confusion seems sincere and noble. Too often, students feel shame when they struggle with texts, and it's great to acknowledge that all readers have moments of confusion. I struggle every time I attempt, yet again, to read Ulysses. I understand how hard it is to maintain one's energy level despite a complete lack of understanding. I am always quick to relate my own troublesome experiences with students, especially when we approach any text that's particularly challenging for them.

I'm going to use his driving metaphor in my class (p.64). It's an apt comparison.

After reading this far, I think my "Levels of Questioning" activity is a good, sound pedagogical approach. I sometimes have students come up with questions after or during reading a text. It's like Gallagher's Twenty Questions (p.58), but I ask them to think of questions on the different levels. It works well to get them thinking deeply about what they've read, and it encourages them to make meaningful connections.

I'm also going to use his sentence idea for vocabulary acquisition. I had been planning to use the Word of the Day, but maybe I could incorporate sentences and context into it as well. (Actually, I tried it out today, and it seems to work well. I might alternate this with other vocabulary strategies, such as sentence construction.)