As history, math and science teachers, it is easy to overlook the importance of reading in content area classrooms. However, as we have learned throughout this course, our students' reading capabilities will DIRECTLY impact their ability to succeed in other non-ELA classes. My favorite item on the "Strategies to help struggling readers" list was the bullet about helping students self-monitor their learning. I had a teacher in highschool who would use the term "meta-cognate" many times a class period. After learning some new topic or some earth shattering discovery, he would prompt us to think about our thinking-- meta-cognition. Although it is hard for younger students to do, it is an important skill for students to be able to think about their own thinking, and think about their own understanding of a topic. I, as the teacher, cannot get inside the brain of my student and tell if they really understand what I am talking about. There have been many occasions where I studied for a test and thought I knew the material like the back of my hand, but then did not do well on the test; I thought I knew better than I actually did.
If teachers teach their students to check their own understanding throughout their learning, they are prompting them to ask clarifying questions and ask for help as they learn the material, rather than realizing they do not know anything after failing a test. Having students "stop and think" also slows down those speedy readers who zip through the reading just so they can say they did it, but in reality they did not process any of what they read (I have a bad habit of doing this). Teachers who ask students "what do you think about this" as they read material help them self-monitor their reading by encouraging them to process what they just read, and use other strategies to make meaning out of words on the page. (word count: 314)
