Teaching English Toolbox - OPEN ACCESS SANDBOX
Beyond Reading for "Gist"
Canva: A cute cat reading to a dog
Teachers know a lot about teaching reading - reading subskills, reading projects, graded readers (or not) and more! But there is a whole world of reading and with today's technologies, the educational value of reading and how and why we teach it are constantly changing!
Think about it!
- What can we learn by keeping up with research in the English-speaking world about reading (e.g. "the science of reading") that we can apply to our local English language lessons and maybe even German language lessons?
- How might systems known in German such as reciprocal reading, reading to dogs, book clubs, sustained silent reading and more be used in English language classrooms?
- How do we teach learners to read on their computers? Is it different? What tools and functions might support reading skills and habits?
- Daniel Willingham is one researcher who can provide you with some useful ideas behind the "science of reading".
- Jennifer Serravallo has some excellent publications.
- Davies, G. (2025). I gist don't git it. Modern English Teacher, 34 (3), 45-47. This article questions teaching for gist and provides excellent ideas for going deeper into text.
- Try researching "reading to dogs", "reading relays", "skim, scan, run" or finding out about more creative ways of teaching reading through reading programs.
- Try critiquing what you have learned about reading or what you think you know by finding out in more depth why perhaps popcorn reading is not so good, how the layers of reading can help you become a better reading teacher, or how to really use pictures to support reading (and be critical).
- Take a look at the pages on desirable difficulties as well for more ideas for teaching reading.