Reading Reasons by Kelly Gallagher

Author:Kelly Gallagher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers
Published: 2003-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Look at some of the possibilities writers use instead of using the word “very”:

Why do you think there are so many synonyms for “very”? Why not just have the single word “very”?

Now, consider these three words:

slim

slender

skinny

* * *

Reading Is Hard, and “Hard” Is Necessary

Driving Good Reading

Isn’t it amazing how the most reluctant adolescent reader will suddenly become Evelyn Woods when it comes to reading the Department of Motor Vehicles Handbook? This phenomenon usually occurs somewhere around age fifteen. The DMV handbook is a nice example of how we must sometimes buckle down to read informational text, and of how careful readers reap clear benefits.

1. Individually, ask students to take the nine-question driving handbook quiz.

2. In addition to taking the exam, have students make a list of strategies they employed to read and answer the questions correctly.

3. Have students share their answers in small groups and then as a whole class.

4. Brainstorm a list of reading strategies that good readers employ when faced with an exam like this one. Your students might generate some of the following answers:

• I eliminated obvious wrong answers.

• I highlighted key words.

• I narrowed my choices down to two possible answers and guessed.

• I remember my father getting a ticket for this.

• I reread the question two, three, four, or more times.

• I thought back to when I read that specific rule in the Driver’s Handbook.

• I skipped problems and came back. (I answered the easy ones first.)

5. Brainstorm: What other kinds of exams will you take in your lives where these reading strategies might be of value to you? List/discuss.

Answer key:

1. B 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. C 6. B 7. C 8. B 9. C

Source: California Department of Motor Vehicles. Laws in other states may vary.

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