Chapter 4: Concentration, Dante, and being "a little bit lost"

I, too, have had the unfortunate drive the author mentions -- the one that ends with no memory of the trip. And I have also had those reading sessions -- usually when I have been fatigued or preoccupied (or both). I can well imagine how a student, dealing with this frustration each time he reads, might give up. But it is a problem we can address easily. It is merely a concentration problem, not a reading problem. I wonder how many "reading problems" are actually manifestations of poor concentration due to exhaustion, lack of proper environment, or preoccupation.

On a different note, Dante's Inferno is out on DVD now, and the game is available on most systems, with more coming this month. So I bought the DVD and patiently await the game release for my system. I haven't watched the animated movie yet, but the trailers look good, as do those for the game. How does this relate? Well, my thought was that a bunch of students might read Inferno after watching the movie or playing the game, especially since the game makers have hinted at doing the other two parts of the Divine Comedy. Then I thought about teaching Inferno. What kind of preparation would I have to do with the kids? What could I do to help them negotiate what, even for good readers, is a daunting text? Many of the strategies in chapter 4 would be useful in this regard.

Finally, I love the idea of being a little bit lost. I don't mind admitting -- and I do so to my students -- that I prefer to be a little bit lost when I read. Think about this: Have you ever been driving, realized you were a little bit lost, and THEN blanked on the driving? Have you ever been reading, been just a little bit lost, and THEN blanked on a page? No, you haven't. Because being just a little bit lost makes us focus. It makes us ask pertinent questions. In short, it makes us do the things that, as good readers, we should be doing all along.