“Reading Is…”

As high school students, I think you are ready to redefine what reading means. I think (I could be wrong) most students hear “reading” and think about getting through a novel or a story. Maybe we think about articles or handouts where we read through the words, get to the end, and say, “I’m done, now what.”

When you hear that a kid struggles with reading, typically you think it means they don’t know the words or can’t figure out what the words mean. They get lost in the story. They aren’t interested. It doesn’t make sense.

Reading needs to mean more than just figuring out words and getting to the end!

Think of it this way: you read every day all the time. Let me prove it to you. You “read” music in choir or band. You read body language or facial expressions when you are interacting with people around you. Drivers have to “read” the traffic patterns to stay alert. Athletes “read” the defense, the play, or the scenario to figure out what to do or what play to run. Artists might “read” the texture, coloring, and shading that another artist chose to use. Maybe you’ve heard someone say “I can’t get a good read on her” when talking about a person who is tough to figure out. Or maybe you’ve heard of people “reading into” something that was said.

Reading exists all around us. We must redefine what “Reading Is…” if we want to be successful in high school. So, we have a five step approach to help you think of reading as a thinking process, not just a “get through words” process.

FIVE STEPS OF ACTIVE READING…REACHING DEEPER MEANING

  1. READING IS…the POWER to Notice
  2. Strong readers notice as much as they personally can about the blank they are studying or reading. The way an image is built of a thousand different pictures or a movie is built with a hundred different scenes. Good readers notice anything and everything they can in order to try to figure out how it all fits together in a meaningful way.
  1. READING IS…the WILLINGNESS to Question and Explore
  2. Strong readers are willing to work through a process where they are involved and in control. Willingness means you truly, honestly are putting in the effort to slow down and think. You question everything—sometimes because you don’t understand, sometimes because you want to know more. You explore other possibilities, where the idea might be headed, or how everything seems to work together. Strong readers think; they don’t just “get to the end.”
  1. READING IS…the ABILITY to Understand
  2. Strong readers don’t allow themselves to “not know.” They know how different words or phrases work together to create meaning. They look up what they are confused by. They seek out help when they are stuck. They think through situations; they don’t just pay attention to what already makes sense. Really, strong readers don’t need a quiz or a test to prove they are smart because the understand—they can explain and break down what they read in a way that shows they put in the right thought. Understanding doesn’t always mean “knowing everything,” but it does mean thinking through the information you notice and explore.
  1. READING IS…RECOGNIZING Key Pieces and Big Pictures
  2. Strong readers start to understand that everything they read is built up of smaller parts working together. They are able to find the most important elements or pieces of information; they can explain how those key pieces build important meanings or ideas. Strong readers also see that anything they are reading—all of the parts working together—creates one bigger, connected idea, what we would call “theme” in academics. Strong readers see how different songs on an album connect to a similar idea and song writer is building. Strong readers see how a variety of scenes really help build up the powerful message of a moving film. Strong readers see how an individual’s body language, demeanor, facial expressions, interests, etc. define might reveal that the individual is depressed. Strong readers see that important parts work together to build bigger, more powerful ideas.
  1. READING IS…coming to LOGICAL, INFORMED Conclusions
  2. Strong readers can do something with what they have read. Strong readers, after thinking through and reflecting, can determine whether or not they fully agree with what they have read. Strong readers develop their own insightful ideas using the reading they have worked through. Strong readers can explain what the reading is trying to inform or convey without needing prompting or questions to answer because strong readers already worked through all the levels of meaning. Most importantly, strong readers can use what they have read meaningfully and purposefully. Sometimes, strong readers can even build onto what they have read by adding their own set of ideas and their own knowledge, making the “big picture” of what they have read even more powerful by helping add to that big picture.