Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level: A Guide to Resources

What is it? How does it work?

Background:
These unique strategies focus on developing transaction with text. Students are guided in connecting their own emotions and experiences during reading.

Overview:
Unique responses to literature have been examined and considered since the 1920s, culminating in the work of Louise Rosenblatt. In 1938 and again in 1978, Rosenblatt drew attention to the unique and legitimate contributions of the reader to text understanding. These contributions can be elicited through instructional strategies in the context of a literature-based classroom. Four strategies that have been successful with struggling secondary readers are described here.

The Point, Counterpoint response strategy (Rogers, 1987, 1990, 1991) encourages multiple interpretations of complex stories. It consists of three stages.
1. Students read the story, jotting down responses that come to mind.
2. In small groups or with the whole class, students discuss their responses with others and elaborate on them, comparing their response with responses of others.
3. Students revise their original responses, adding a rationale and/or an explanation.

The Response Heuristic (Bleich, 1978) asks students to provide three written responses to a text.
1. In "text perception," the reader composes a brief summary statement about the content.
2. The reader reacts to the text.
3. The reader provides "associations with the text," which are personal connections that are elaborated upon with their own prior knowledge and beliefs.

The Sketch to Stretch activity (Harste, Short & Burke, 1988) asks students to generate sketches reflective of their interpretations of a text. Students share these sketches in small groups while peers offer interpretations. Once group members have suggested an interpretation, the artist presents his/her interpretation. This activity continues until everyone has presented their work.

Readers' theater focuses on oral reading and interpretation as well as composition and comprehension (Post, 1974; Young & Vardell, 1993). Readers select favorite literature from which they develop and perform scripts. To prepare, students may practice reading lines as a group. Teachers can allow the use of simple props and encourage a theatrical performance. Or, students can be asked to let the words alone convey the meaning. Following the performance, students and audience discuss the performance. Revision may follow.