Presentation on theme: "By Terre Sychterz Kutztown University. Views reading as an interaction between text and reader The reader looks for the gaps or indeterminacies."— Presentation transcript:
By Terre Sychterz Kutztown University
Views reading as an interaction between text and reader The reader looks for the gaps or indeterminacies and fills in using inference The meaning is NOT in the text but the active reader who uses schema and the text to build meaning
Views reading as a transactional process involving the text and the reader as EQUAL partners Reader takes stances: Efferent -‘to carry away knowledge” expository in nature Aesthetic – evokes a “sense of feelings, ideas, and attitudes”
Extended Rosenblatt’s theory Two paths to “full response” Stasis = efferent Dialectic = aesthetic Both are necessary for a “full response”
Stock Response: understanding the moral of the story Kinetic Response: emotions evoked by the story; pleasure Spectator: relates to literary analysis This extends Rosenblatt’s Theory to include literary experience and analysis.
New Criticism, prevalent before the seventies, states that there is only one correct interpretation of the story/poem.
Meaning found in the text Since there is only one text there can only be one meaning with which close and careful reading will reveal. The reader and the author play little or no part in this way of reading.
“Currently people who say they have no articulated theory of reading are probably teaching reading with theories of behaviorism; and people who say they have no theory of literary criticism are probably teaching English using New Critical principals…Indeed, most standardized tests of reading are based on New Critical principals, and most researchers who investigate ‘comprehension’ are assuming that meaning resides exclusively in the text. (Sipe, 2008, p.46)
This theory posits that different readers will naturally and inevitably construct different meanings of the same text. It opens the text to the reader so the author is not in possession of the text - in direct opposition to McKeown’s Questioning the Author strategy
It is open to personal interpretation It reflects the reader’s own experience and personality “Readers Response ” (Beach, 1993; Marshall,1993; Tompkins, 1980)
LiteraryLiteracy Meaning MakingComprehension PlotSequence ThemesMain ideas LanguageVocabulary
Overuse of some reading strategies engenders a false sense of success. In using prediction, there is no one right answer because it is opinion, yet linguistically there is the suggestion of a right response. (Cow by Doyle) Prediction requires schema and from this background we can build inferences. (First the Egg by Seeger) Overuse or inappropriate use of prediction is problematic because the emergent or unaccomplished reader will mimic this practice.
Beginning a story by stating, “I want you to read to find out…” puts the teacher in control of the read. It is no longer the child’s read. Stopping and starting a read to answer teacher directed questions is annoying to most good readers and deflating to emergent readers. Accomplished readers continue to read a text despite unknown words or questions because they like the flow, topic, illustrations, etc.
Reader response journals or use of sticky notes for young children are developmentally inappropriate. (small motor control and disrupts imaginative experience) A focus on prevention rather than what is the best way to teach young children to read. High stakes testing asks the teacher to “prevent” reading difficulties. Therefore teachers teach skills to meet that request. This requires the efferent reading of text over the aesthetic.
Read-i-cide: noun, the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practice found in schools. Gallagher, K. (2009), p.2
“Take one large novel. Dice into as many pieces as possible. Douse with sticky notes. Remove book from oven every five minutes and insert worksheets. Add more sticky notes. Baste until novel is unrecognizable, far beyond well done. Serve in choppy, bite-size chunks.” Gallagher, K. (2009), p.73
Access to great books. Large doses of uninterrupted time to read them.
Sloan (1984) and Peterson & Eeds (1990) emphasize meaning making as critique and inquiry. Both of which are necessary for critical thinking. This requires transacting with the text. Students discuss their personal responses and discover similar and/or divergent responses. Students re-read and re-look the text.
Partnership Model of Literature Response
“When meaning is interactively constructed, then comprehension involves negotiating many possible meanings, not only in your own head but also with the heads of others, who all have unique backgrounds and ways of constructing meaning. ( Hammerberg, 2004, p. 650)
Imagination is another element at the core of meaning making. It is a critical way in which students and teachers reach toward meaning and come to understanding (Langer, 1995). Therefore when we transact with text we are calling upon imaginative powers to form meaning
Sipe’ s (2008) research shows that two-thirds of children’s conversational turns take place during the read of a story and one-third take place after the read. Types of responses were Intertextual responses Performative responses Predictions Talking back to the story
Children are not marginalized in a partnership model of reading but capable of producing knowledge. Children’s personal responses “I like…,” I would…,” “I think…,” “I agree…,” etc. Children found pleasure in our reading. (laughter, sadness, surprise, etc.) Children acted as critics, sharing voice and vision. (Critical analysis) Children’s writing reflected their reading.
Limit questions – use probing questions, encouragements, invitational questions, predictions (when appropriate) Scaffold: adjust teaching to children’s needs and leads Refine and extend your own understanding of art, illustration and picturebook theory (Bang, 2000; Doonan, 1993; Kiefer 1995) Openness and acceptance of a variety of responses
Let go of the control. Instead of “using” literature, experience it yourself. Make your own meanings, not what a manual tells you or a book guide. Prepare for a Read Aloud by experiencing the read yourself.