When students encounter difficulties while reading textbooks, their first instinct is often to blame themselves - and their lack of reading proficiency. But the problems often have nothing to do with them. In this revised and expanded edition of her classic Infotext: Reading and Learning, Karen Feathers explains why infotexts - the textbooks, manuals, magazines, Web sites, and so on that we read for information - often present problems, even for proficient readers. By drawing on both traditional and current research into reading and reading behavior, she then goes on to demonstrate how teachers of content subjects can help students, including English language learners, overcome these problems and learn more effectively. Her practical, classroom-tested suggestions help teachers focus on content and manage curriculum demands, while encouraging students to take control of their own learning by expanding their repertoire of reading strategies.
Infotext : Reading and Learning
Description
Table of Contents
Preface; Why Teach Content Reading?; Why Teach Content Reading?; Why Teach Reading in Content Classes?; Summary. The Basis of Content Reading; Is All Reading the Same?; What Factors Affect Reading?; How Do We Read?; What Do Good Readers Do?; What Do We Know about Learning That Can Help Us?; Summary. Evaluating Students and Texts; Differences between Narrative and Expository Texts; Evaluating Texts Using Readability Formulas; Evaluating Texts for Instructional Planning; Evaluating Reading through a Content Informal Reading Inventory; Alternative Ways of Evaluating Student's Ability to Read Content Texts; Summary. Understanding Vocabulary; Should Vocabulary Be Taught Formally?; Learning Vocabulary: Terms and Concepts; Learning Vocabulary: Many Concepts, One Label; The Importance of Learning Vocabulary in Context; Helping Students Develop Independent Strategies; Helping Students Deal with Unfamiliar Vocabulary; Summary. Making Connections; Finding Out What Students Know; Helping Students Make Connections; Summary. Focusing on Meaning; Helping Students Monitor Understanding; Helping Students Develop Metacognitive Awareness; Encouraging Active Reading; Identifying Important Information; Summary. Organizing Information - New Perspectives; Charts; Semantic Maps; Summaries; Summary. The Importance of Reflective Writing; Journals and Learning Logs; Letters and E-Mail Messages; Poetry; Recycled Stories; Summary. Bibliography; Professional References; Infotext References
Author Description
Dr. Karen M. Feathers is known internationally for her work in content reading, comprehension, and staff development. She is coordinator of the Reading, Language and Literature Program in the Division of Teacher Education at Wayne State University in Detroit, and has also served on the Michigan State Content Literacy Committee, as well as the Committee on Reading/Language in Secondary Schools and the Second Language Literacy and Learning Commission of the International Reading Association. Her extensive experience with teachers in the widely diverse classrooms of the urban area in which she works form the basis of this book.