Reading Comprehension

Today's readings really opened my eyes to just how complicated the issue of comprehension is. I have worked with students before with low comprehension levels, and I believe it is a very challenging aspect of reading to teach. In regards to my own reading comprehension, I have never really questioned it until now. I have always loved to read. As a child, I frequently went to the local library with my mom to check out books, and I especially loved reading out in the sun during the summers. I still really enjoy reading, although while in school my personal reading is limited due to time! In my free-reading, I feel that I have never really been challenged with comprehension because I choose what to ready, and what interests me, therefore making it a more comprehendable for me. I cannot recall any issues I had in my early school years with comprehension because overall I did not mind reading. I felt comfortable reading in front of others, therefor I was more confidant and motivated to continue reading. I do remember some instances in middle school where I did not enjoy doing book reports but I believe that was due more to my disinterest than my comprehension. Now, in my college level readings, I sometimes feel less motivated to read because some of the readings, especially in my higher up English classes, are uninteresting to me. While there are quite a few times I find myself struggling with comprehension, I am now a learned reader and can follow steps to deepen my comprehension like rereading, and sometimes extra research.
The Tompkins chapters especially deepened my awareness in considering comprehension from a teacher stand point. Lucky for me, reading was always my strong subject, so I find myself not as concerned with comprehension as I should be at times. The Tompkins chapter 7 highlights the eight strategies surrounding student's comprehension. I was very surprised at just how in-depth one simple reading skill requires students to think! I see many of these strategies applied in my classroom, yet I still feel that because comprehension is such a huge aspect surrounding the student's success, more can be done surrounding comprehension. I look forward to talking about this more thoroughly in class today because comprehension is a topic I feel somewhat nervous to tackle in my own classroom!