The need to teach reading

Today I watched Dr. Kajder try to figure out how to respond to the library's web site about a book they claimed was overdue. First she had to read through a lengthy set of directions about how to respond. Reading is a skill that students need to survive, not only to be academically successful, but to be able to navigate web sites that come with complex and confusing directions. We can't leave it to the English teachers to teach this skill, particularly since every content area has its own contextual reading materials. My readers writers project is How to read like a historian. These are history specific skills that need to be taught and re-taught. Maybe the scores are low because students can't critically read the questions, not because we can't get to all the content.