"Tools for Thinking: Reading Strategies across the Curriculum" and "Book Clubs" Daniels and Zemelman

Daniels and Zemelman present twenty-four exercises in “Tools for Thinking: Reading Strategies Across the Curriculum.”  They are designed to engage students in active reading and to model the processes that experienced readers use to get the most out of texts.  I use the term experienced reader whereas Daniels and Zemelman call them smart readers because they are not any smarter than any other reader they’ve just had more practice.  The methods that experienced readers use come naturally with practice and using these strategies or similar ones, modeling thought processes, activating prior knowledge, and approaching reading methodically can make reading larger texts less laborious and more fun.  It might even create a passion for reading where before there was none. 

            Some of my favorite methods provided here were the KWL process, double-entry journals, it says/I say, mapping, and list-group-label.  I especially like the double-entry journal because when reading a dense text it makes it easier if you have a list of important information and a list of your thoughts while reading.  You really do want to keep them separate for easier reference later.  On one side you can make connections between other texts you’ve read or a personal experience and write down any questions or wonderings.  On the other side you have the most pertinent information you want to pull from the text, depending on the purpose for which you are reading.  I know it’s not really as fun as some of the other techniques but it is a good practice for reading history.  It can be used alongside some of the other strategies, or you can do as many of these strategies as possible with students, and see which they like the best because different strategies work better for different students.

            Chapter nine is about book clubs.  The authors present it as being optional and almost completely student-directed.  They seem to think less teacher involvement is better and that by letting students make choices they will be more interested in spending the time and effort on such an activity.  It’s hard to argue with that.  I did not like the example that they gave about the history book club because they included titles that were historical fiction.  It is the worst genre ever!  It is not history!  The students should read history otherwise it’s not a history book club.  But the idea of book clubs, obviously, is awesome to allow students to be actively engaged in reading and reading for enjoyment with friends.