Prepared by Sheldon Miner, BA, BEd 2004, St. Thomas University
Allington, R., (2002). What I've Learned About Effective
Reading Instruction. PHI DELTA KAPPAN 740-7
Allington feels that the way teachers instruct the classroom will increase a child's understanding of the
material. The book states that when a school has good teachers, they are better and more effective than "proven
programs." There were various teachers selected from across the United States, who teach in low income and
racially diverse areas. Allington says that by following the six Ts: Time, Texts, Teaching, Talk, Tasks and
Testing, children will have a better understanding of the material used and taught in a classroom.
Anderson, L. (1991). Using Reader-Response Theory In The
Introductory
literature Classroom. College
Literature, 18, 141-5.
Anderson looks at what she calls the "rhetorical approach to literature." According to this, when most people
read, child or adult, they bring with them expectations, biases and assumptions. She notes that this has been a
concern of Marxist critics for years. Many children come from different backgrounds, therefore, there would be
a vast difference in the response. It is recommended that readers should "recognize the assumptions they bring
and confront their biases and expectations." Although this article was written about college level students, the
same basic principles can be applied to elementary reading. The students felt that because a teacher gave them
the story, they should be looking for something important. Also, they felt that because the story was fiction it
should be entertaining, and should have heroes and great battles. An example given was "The Stout
Gentleman" by Washington Irving. The typical response was that they did not understand what Irving was
trying to say. This may be the case, but what Anderson would like to do is "get the students to articulate such
responses and then move them to another level of analysis."
Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum: Primary-3. 181-5
The Nova Scotia curriculum for the K-3 level notes that children should do typical response activities (personal
and critical). At the same time, it demands that they also respond in other ways, such as, puppet-shows,
writing a poem, or a play, for example. However, when responding in journals or logs, the teacher should use
effective questioning techniques. They note that the questions should not just have the child re-tell the story,
but should "promote both critical and creative thinking, as well as open-ended questions that have more than
one right answer." Questions like this will promote thinking before, during, and after reading.