Check, one, two, three...

These three chapters were jam packed with a lot of information.  The parts that stick in my mind the most were the chapters talking about older students and reading, and dyslexia.
Older students don't read enough...I agree.  With the amount of electronic devices in their worlds, and still coming, where do words from a book fit in.  I think they read more than they realize through everyday life and the print around them, but the attention spans in children, in general, are growing shorter.  I also agree that older students don't understand what they are reading.  The "ways of words" changes and the volcabulary deepens as they reach the higher grade levels.  For example, science.  Reading a science text book for my students (even though we don't have them) is like reading a foreign language.  We spend lots of time with hangs-on activities, drawing pictures, figuring out ways to learn the vocabulary without looking in a dictionary every time, writing notes, acting, etc.  How do you get a 5th or 6th grader ready for the next step, high school, college, or life?  One day at a time.  Practicing skills that they can use to understand.  What I find difficult about this is I feel like there is so much to do and not enough time.  So...what is the most important step?
I liked the section that speaks about responding to the needs of readers beyond the primary grades.  Honestly, I look at the the suggested strategies and I thought...well...isn't that just good teaching at all levels?  Of course, some will vary depending on the grade, but don't you need to practice reading and writing in all subject areas?  Or have a technology component?  Or have a variety of diverse texts?  I say yes!
The reading about dyslexia kind of hits home for me.  I have seen that struggle and determination.  I didn't know that dyslexic students tend to be average or above in intelligence testing.  But I knew it at the same time, because the students I have had experience with can think on a different level and really look outside the box on various concepts.