Analyzing texts with students is an excellent way not only to understand the challenges inherent in texts, but also to develop analytic skills and a deeper knowledge of how language works. By working collaboratively with their peers, teachers can extend the range of questions asked and addressed.

Summary

Reading can be hard, especially for children who are acquiring reading skills in a language they don't know as well as they know the language they learned first. Even for children who learn to read in their first language, reading is demanding because it calls for an abundance of knowledge and skills for reading words, reading text, and handling the language of text. Adults who are fluent readers may be unaware of just how challenging reading can be. Even when we struggle to read text that assumes knowledge we don't have, adults can draw on reading skills and knowledge about English structure of which we're unaware.

Becoming aware of the kinds of challenges that reading presents can lead teachers and others who work with children to find ways of helping children build the reading expertise that is fundamental to school success.

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