“The last paragraph of this article summarizes the thesis and makes a strong statement. Do you agree or disagree and why?”
I do not agree with the author of this article’s suggestion that we need to “unplug” for an hour a day in order to become successful readers of complex text. I believe we can teach our students to successfully navigate through complex text while using technology as a support. Like we discussed this morning, technology can be helpful for students to look up unknown words or to read up on an unfamiliar concept. This doesn't need to be a distraction or pull the reader off task, but rather it can lead to a deeper understanding of the text and can allow the reader to make connections.
We do need to teach our students how to read complex texts. We need to teach them the skills they will need such as: vocabulary, context clues, inferences, and higher-level thinking. Technology can assist us in doing this; it does not have to be a detriment. I do agree with the author, however when he says that when we are distracted we cannot do complex reading. Cell phones, music, television, and conversations can distract us from really being able to dig deep into a text. We need to distinguish the difference technology that is going to help us make meaning of the text and technology that is going to distract us from reading the text.
One idea taken from The Daily Five is the idea of building stamina. They suggest having students read for three minutes independently in the beginning of the year and then increasing the time as the year goes on. Most children are not naturally able to sit for long periods of time without distraction. By increasing the time slowly we can help our students build the stamina to sit and read for longer periods of time. This will help them when they go to read complex texts because they will be used to sitting and reading a text uninterrupted for a longer period of time.
Krista, like you, I also disagreed with the bold statements the author made. I too believe that technology should be used as a support because it can enhance learning and help clarify points unclear to the reader. I agree that we do need to to teach children how to read complex texts because we can't expect them to do it if we don't give them the support to do so. I like your idea of the three minutes of independent reading to build stamina. I believe this is something our students lack today. I think this shows out students that the teacher values reading but doesn't make the time too long at the start. The time increases as the year goes on and the children become stronger readers.
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