Gibbons Chapter 5

I think the main point that Gibbons was trying to get across in this chapter was the point that there's more to reading than the ability to read. For ESL students especially, the comprehension aspect is much more difficult. Gibbons talked about the cultural aspect of reading and comprehension. For example, he included a newspaper heading, an ad, and a book title without including those labels on them. It was easy for me to know exactly the purpose of the phrases because I have been reading phrases like them all my life. I think the little things that we might assume to be obvious to everyone isn't always that way. I would assume that these societal norms to me would be well known to others, but even the small details to the bigger customs could be different depending on culture. I want to make this a focus in my future classroom to provide background and understanding for reading. I like the ideas that the chapter provided about pre-reading strategies. I think these ideas help all students become familiar and gather predictions before they read, making comprehension go a bit deeper. Even by having discussions about existing knowledge of the subject about to be read can help all readers. I feel that reading should make connections to all students reading, whether you can personally relate or not. It can always be made as a lesson to how someone else or another lifestyle is different than your own, and as always, people are more alike than different. These different connections can make the reading meaningful for ESL students and first language students as well. I think reading should be an opporuntity to learn from characters and situations, and also each other when connections are made.