READING WORKSHOPS: SECTION II

READING AND RESPONSE TO LITERATURE

Within any one group of readers there are different responses and interpretations of the text. Nevertheless, from one reader to the next, there are commonalities which emerge based on similar backgrounds, psychological predispositions and interpretive strategies (Beach and Hynds, 1991). It follows that to fully understand a text and to learn from it, we must live in it, read and re-read it. We must know why we like certain parts more than others and understand how those parts affect us as readers. Rosenblatt (1978) suggests that while on the one hand there is the text, on the other there is the personality of the reader. Readers both transform and are transformed by their reading. Sharing responses with others who have read the same book helps engage us as readers, apply literature to life, heighten our response, and clarify our thinking.

Up to this point, a number of reading comprehension strategies to employ Before, During, and After reading have been introduced. Applying these strategies facilitates not only the construction of meaning as we read, but also our subsequent memory for the text. In the following sessions, these reading strategies are used and reinforced so that students become more adept at applying them. As described in the opening paragraph, the emphasis in the next series of workshops shifts to encompass aesthetic responses to reading, while maintaining the focus on constructing meaning, acquiring knowledge through reading, and learning how to regulate and read strategically. In order to provide a rich context for reader response, opportunities to share responses are provided. Participants move from reading picture books to reading longer stories and chapter books. A greater variety of themes are incorporated. The study of folklore is added to the study of family stories and realistic fiction.

1. to encourage genuine responses to stories.
   
   
2. to inspire active responses by providing opportunities to think and talk not only about personal connections and reactions to stories, but also the reactions of others.
   
   
3. to foster the social construction of meaning through genuine interaction in the sharing of responses.
   
   
4. to establish a rich context for listening and speaking.
   
   
5. to promote the reading of longer texts.
   
   
6. to broaden the scope of reading experiences.
   
   
7. to reinforce previously introduced reading comprehension strategies.
   
   
8. to develop reading fluency.

NEW STRATEGY: "SAY SOMETHING"

Students may encounter difficulties trying to comprehend what they are reading. Being able to share ideas with their reading partners as they read along, however, often facilitates meaning making. In using "Say Something", partners read together, stopping either spontaneously or at set intervals to share their thoughts. Different kinds of sharing may take place. Partners may share personal experiences, predict what might happen next, or comment about story illustrations and/or story events. The talk helps to clarify meaning.

The use of the "Say Something" strategy (Harste, Short and Burke, 1988) is an open invitation for readers to respond naturally. Their conversations may involve cognitive and affective responses. Subsequent reflection and commentary broaden insights and interpretations.