As a teacher, I’ve always wanted my students to not just read but to truly engage with texts. Yet, so many of them go through the motions—reading the words without really thinking about what they mean. That’s why Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst was a game-changer for me.
This book challenges traditional approaches to reading instruction and offers powerful strategies to make reading more meaningful, personal, and transformative for students.
Key Ideas from Disrupting Thinking
Beers and Probst argue that reading isn’t just about decoding words or answering comprehension questions—it’s about thinking, feeling, and responding to what we read. Here are some of their biggest takeaways:
- The Book-Head-Heart (BHH) Framework – This simple yet powerful model encourages students to think about:
- Book: What does the text say? (Basic comprehension)
- Head: What do I think about this? How does it connect to what I know?
- Heart: How does this make me feel? What will I do with this new perspective?
- Traditional Reading Instruction Falls Short – The authors highlight how many reading programs focus too much on answering questions instead of teaching students to think deeply about texts.
- Empowering Students as Readers – Instead of treating reading as a task to complete, we should help students see it as a way to understand themselves and the world.
How This Book Changed My Teaching
After implementing the strategies in Disrupting Thinking, I noticed some powerful changes in my classroom:
- My students stopped seeing reading as a chore and started engaging with texts in more meaningful ways.
- Classroom discussions became deeper and more student-driven—they weren’t just summarizing plots but making real-world connections.
- I shifted my focus from testing comprehension to encouraging authentic, reflective conversations about books.
Who Should Read This Book?
If you’re a teacher, reading specialist, or literacy coach who wants to help students move beyond surface-level reading and truly think about what they read, this book is for you. It’s filled with practical strategies that can be applied in any classroom.
Final Thoughts & Where to Get the Book
Reading should change us. It should challenge the way we think and see the world. Disrupting Thinking reminds us of that and provides concrete ways to bring this mindset into our classrooms.
If you’re ready to transform how your students engage with texts, grab a copy of Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters (affiliate link). You won’t regret it!
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Have you tried any of these reading strategies in your classroom? Let’s discuss in the comments!
