Koskinen, P. S. (Ed.), Grant, R., Guthrie, J., Bennett,
L., Rice, M. E., McGough, K. (1994). Developing engaged readers through concept-oriented
instruction. The Reading Teacher 47,
4. 338-40
The concept orientated reading instruction project was created for the children to motivate them to read and
give them a means to explore the world around them. Used in a grade five American classroom with a mixture
of diverse backgrounds, using what the researchers call observe
and personalize, search and retrieve, comprehend and integrate and communicate
to others researchers found this program to be a success. They concluded that the
students were beginning to read more, not only in quantity, but also more frequently. Students were also found
to be discussing books more with family and friends. In fact, when it came time to move on to a different
activity, the students protested against leaving what they were reading and the activity that they were working
on.
Leggo, C. (1998). Open(ing) Texts: Deconstruction and Responding to Poetry.
Theory Into Practice, 37, 186-192.
Leggo looks at deconstruction in a simplistic form. He feels there are three main areas in the deconstruction
process: critical, literate and creative. Using deconstruction for responding to poetry is helpful to children, for it
is such a different genre than what they are used to. Leggo notes that "instead of a hidden meaning that must
be revealed, the poetic text is a site where the reader's imagination, experience, understanding and emotions
come into play." Therefore, there are not any incorrect responses. This will in turn build a child's confidence in
their analysis of poetry. Leggo believes there should be plural responses, and expresses this by quoting
Marshall(1992). Marshall stated that "we need to hold in our minds a place for interpretations that are other
than ours."
Love, R. (1993). Gender Bias: Inequities in the Classroom.
IDRA Newsletter, 20, 2.11-12
This article addresses the problem of biases, not only in literature, but also in math and science texts. Love feels
that when this occurs it has damaging side affects for both boys and girls. The boys and girls see themselves
portrayed in particular roles which will reinforce the stereotypes. In a study of various books, it was found that
boys are portrayed in energetic roles, completing various roles, while the girls were more passive, having jobs
like nursing, and home makers. The children see a narrow field of what jobs a boy and a girl should do later in
life.