SESSION EIGHT:"SAY SOMETHING"

1. to present a technique ("Say Something") for responding to literature.
   
   
2. to establish a climate in which the sharing of personal responses to literature is valued.
   
   
3. to go beyond the teaching of reading skills and strategies by helping participants 'experience' literature.
   
   
4. to support participants as they begin to read longer and longer text.
   
   
5. to provide further opportunities for developing reading fluency through paired practice.
   
   
6. to make connections with family reading by suggesting that participants use "Say Something" when reading with their children at home.

1. Reports that up to now we have been learning steps that help us both to make sense of the information we read and to remember that information. Explains that there is another side to reading - our natural and personal response to the story and what the author is saying:
   
   Sometimes when we are reading the author's words remind us of things and events in our own life or the lives of people we know. At other times the words help us to create a picture, or evoke a mood or particular feeling such as surprise or shock. Both our prior knowledge and our prior experiences affect the way that we respond to stories. Sometimes when we relate to what we are reading it helps us explain our own lives or causes us to see our lives from a different perspective. When we acknowledge these thoughts and responses, reading becomes more meaningful.
   
   
2. Introduces the "Say Something" technique for responding to literature (Harste, Short and Burke, 1988):
   
   In this session we are going to use a technique called "Say Something" in which we read with a partner or a small group of three. Each pair has only one copy of the book and reads out loud together. As we read, we stop after the first few paragraphs and "Say Something" to our partner. Our partner then has a turn to "Say Something". After this exchange, we continue reading the next several paragraphs and continue in this fashion until we have completed the whole story.
   
   There is no one right way to respond. Any reaction to or interpretation of what you are reading is acceptable. The important thing is to share the thoughts you are having and to tell why you are having them. You might share emotional reactions, related experiences, confusions, questions and whether you like or dislike the characters or what is happening... anything at all that comes to mind.
   
   Your interpretations and responses may not be the same. You may disagree. Sometimes you may have to check back and re-read portions of the story to clarify your interpretation. I should caution you, however, that both interpretations may be appropriate.
   
   NOTE: Challenging each other and asking why helps us gain more insight into what we are reading.
   
   
3. Introduces the story Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, New York: Harper and Row (1985), by briefly establishing a context for the story and activating prior knowledge as suggested in the following:
   
   This story takes place on the prairies when the west was first being settled.. What kinds of things come to your mind when you think about life at that time?