In this chapter of Bean, Baldwin, and Readence, they set the table for what is to come by asking and answering "Why?". What is the importance of content focused reading? Why should all teachers be accountable for reading skills?
Well, without knowing background information and/or vocabulary, our students are unable to grasp the material presented in the textbooks. They struggle to comprehend what each paragraph is conveying, therefore, missing the entire point of reading the passage. They are unable to read to learn, and would be behind in the classroom.
How do we combat this? BBR laid out a few ways for teachers to do so. BBR suggests that teachers become facilitators "between readers and texts." Teachers should promote the construction of meaning between the words of the authors. The teacher could also tailor the message or give a focus for the students to read for. There are many others, but these are a few that I thought to be more pertinent.
WA
You were far more, well, merciful towards the BBR chapter than I. Then again, it felt like the only new thing which it brought to the table was the writing style. Having said that, what it does restate is solid, metaphorical educational gold. We will have most likely seen our text books over and over and over during our careers, whereas our students will likely only see that particular text once during their academic career. And that’s something we need to internalize (teaching how to read/comprehend the textbook). For instance, I’ve had to teach my class how to read and understand a dictionary ending (English/Latin), which is something I’ll admit I hadn’t thought about until a few minutes before that class.
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