In Tovani's Chapter 4: Real Rigor, she discusses her opinion on text and textbooks. She tells of a US History course's problem with the textbook being way too difficult for its readers. "The reading material is often above their grade level and inconsiderately written." She also says that the emphasis on "coverage" over content has led education as a whole to rely on this kind of text in the classroom.
Tovani then details "rigor" and how it applies to the classroom. She talks of how the rigor of a reading assignment should be forged by each student. Since the students all read at different levels and paces, the struggling readers should be given material "that is worthy of their time, something that they actually have the potential to understand." Tovani writes about how she aided a student who was assigned To Kill a Mockingbird. She was able to develop a level of understanding through other, more accessible texts. She helped the student find texts that would help her develop understanding of To Kill a Mockingbird. This instance brought up her ideas about text sets. She developed text sets to help struggling readers make connections with literature to their content area. The texts were accessible to the students and more easily read.
There are many takeaways from this chapter. Though I believe reading in math is of a little less importance than reading in US History, the text sets and accessibility of texts would greatly benefit students in my classroom. I know that students often have to relearn or teach themselves the material that we went over in class. If the only resource they have to do so is the textbook, they are in trouble. Our Algebra II text is similar to the textbooks that Tovani wrote about. They are higher level (especially when detailing procedures). Though I cannot "dumb down" the text, I can certainly provide sites and books that would aid the struggling reader. There are multiple websites that do just that. The students can access them at any time. And the best part about these sites? They are fun. Highly interactive and highly informational.
I don't want my students to give up on math just because they do not get it. I want them to know that there are many other ways that I help. I can provide them with the best foundation for them to succeed, whether it's in the textbook, my lecture, or at home on mathisfun.com. And one of my favorite quotes that we had at Milligan Baseball was "Find a Way." In teaching, I must find a way to help ALL of my students, no matter the task.
WA
I think your takeaways were spot on from Tovani's chapter 4. I would argue, though, that texts are just as important in Math as in History or Literature. Math texts may not look like words on a paper, though, so much as graphics, equations, and tasks. The accessibility of texts are paramount to the motivation and success of students. In a classroom, inaccessible texts can mean the difference between a healthy and unhealthy learning environment.
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