In this chapter of "Reading with Meaning," Deb Miller digs into thinking strategies, assessment strategies, and planning. I love that Miller teaches in the balance of inquiry and planning. As we have been able to tell from the previous chapters, Miller doesn't have concrete plans. She wants to be able to expand on students' interests. But I love when she says "proper planning prevents poor performance." Laziness isn't the same as leaving room for inquiry, not to mention there are standards out there. I would love to work in a classroom without standards, just teaching what I want to teach and playing all day, but that is a very unlikely environment. I should have clear goals for my students, and they should be clear of those goals, too. This ties into her mentioning of assessment. My students need to know where we're headed and what they should strive to accomplish to get to that point. "Once we know where we're going and what we're going for, there's purpose, motivation, and ownership in our daily work with children. Likewise, when children know where they're going and what they're going for, there's purpose, motivation, and ownership in their work, too. And a whole lot of positive energy all around!" p. 71. Miller says that we need to have an understanding of where our students should be by the end of the year. This will create in us a sense of urgency in our preparation and planning. She finishes the rest of the chapter by discussing schema and making meaningful connections. I've noticed in my practicum, and even when reading with children that I babysit, that making meaning is a part of reading that a lot of students miss, which is very unfortunate. There's no value in reading if meaning can't be made. In my practicum this week, I was listening to a student read. He read the entire book with very few miscues and with great fluency, but when I asked him about the content of the book he couldn't tell me anything. He didn't even mention the main character's name. I asked him if this book reminded him of anything and he have me a blank stare. Is this what "reading" is to children? Reading arbitrary words on a page? Miller combats this practice by teaching the importance of schema in her classroom. Her students know what schema means, know how to connect with characters, and knowing how to connect texts to real world situations.