  Teachers of adolescents across the country are under enormous pressure to cover more content in their disciplines, to make instruction more relevant to students, and to help students acquire the reading skills they need to succeed on standardized tests and beyond. In this videotape set, high school teacher Cris Tovani brings viewers into her school and classroom and shows how she and her colleagues are meeting the challenge of improving students� reading skills across the curriculum. The tapes include examples of Cris working with students using texts from multiple disciplines in her classroom, as well as collaborating with colleagues throughout the school. Tape 1: Modeling What Good Readers Do Using examples from technical text and novels, Cris models her own reading process to show students how to read and understand difficult material. Tape 2: Interpreting Data: Charts, Graphs, Standardized Tests Cris works with students as they analyze charts, data and graphs, and discusses how standardized test scores led her to place more emphasis on data reading across the curriculum. Tape 3: Reading Like a Mathematician Cris and math teacher Jim Donohue co-teach, working with struggling readers on strategies for completing math problems, and talk about their collaboration. Tape 4: Synthesizing Complex Ideas Cris assists students as they integrate reading from history textbooks with current articles in newspapers and magazines. Students synthesize background knowledge and new information to understand wars from the last seventy years. Accompanying the Comprehending Content videotapes is a detailed viewing guide with sample workshop activities, reading materials used by students on the tape, focus questions for viewing, and tips for using the related book, Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?, with the tapes in a study group setting. About the Author: Cris Tovani taught elementary school for ten years before becoming a high school reading specialist and English teacher. In addition to teaching full-time, she is a nationally known consultant focusing on issues of reading and content comprehension in the high school classroom. Cris has also worked for many years as a staff developer for the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), the consortium that has received national acclaim for its work in reading comprehension reform. She is the author of the books I Read It, but I Don�t Get It (Stenhouse 2000) and Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? (Stenhouse 2004), and the videotape set Thoughtful Reading (Stenhouse 2003). 2004. Two 60-minute DVDs or Four 30-minute videotapes + Viewing Guide Related book entitled "Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?" (Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12), by Cris Tovani. 2004, 138 pages. $19.50. Call 800-431-1242 to order today. |