Q&R 2

How do we read and how do we understand what we are reading?
When you read any piece of material you focus on understanding what the author is trying to say. We read words but reading strategies are important when analyzing what is being represented. My own experience in reading is very similar to my writing habits. I am used to skimming through a text to look for answers related to questions on an assignment. We as readers must identify a piece of information we do not understand. In elementary I was taught to make sense of how the text gives clues to the main idea.
According to flower and Haas the strategies they present have already been introduce to students but not exactly acquired. When I read something that is difficult to comprehend I read aloud and think about what I’m reading as part of “Critical Reading.” Their argument is that students know what words they are saying and they are paraphrasing the content instead of analyzing it to make better sense of it. I feel that I am not guilty but a victim of this issue. We are taught to simplify everything we read instead of being taught how to read and to simplify what we are trying to understand.
Rhetorical reading is a strategy which can help many readers who may not have prior knowledge of the content. When we predict it makes it easier to interpret the text. Hass and flower understand the levels of difficulty can affect how a reader will interpret the information. The research project that they used with the same piece of material with different readers and different reading levels they were looking for what strategies were used to interpret the message.
When we read many questions arise which is part of the reading strategies that is set forth. Content strategies are most commonly used in students and experienced readers. The way we read can’t be right or wrong. The strategies help us make our own opinion in the study rhetorical readers recognize more claims. We are able to recognize certain context which will engage us.
We all have different reasons as to how and why we read. There is a solution to these common misconceptions which is the strategies in which the student can identify the text that they may not fully comprehend.