Are we all Reading Teachers?

Are we all Reading Teachers?
The answer is yes. As a new teacher I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to a two day reading seminar. What did I know – it was a free seminar and I might just get something for my classroom. The seminar leader started the first day by asking – “How many of you are teachers of reading?” Only a handful of people raised their hands. She raised her voice a little and asked again. The audience “got” what she was really saying and almost everyone raided their hands. The truth is, no matter what the subject, we are all teachers of reading. Each text book is set up differently, maybe there are bold or italics for the ‘important’ stuff. We need to show all the students how to handle the book. Formatting of lectures, use of graphic organizers and tests should be set up the same way as we teach.
Assessing their science knowledge is more important that assessing how well they read is. Luckily, in science we have labs. Performance assessments help gauge knowledge for lower skilled readers.