ResponseTo Literature

Response Theories

• Focusing on what is read/ the text (New Criticism)- New Critics view pieces of literature as having their inherent meaning, and the role of the reader is to uncover the meaning of the text without looking at the author’s background or context, and without considering any personal meanings evoked by the piece

• Focusing on the reader (Reader Response)- As a reaction against the New Critics, Reader Response theorists focus on the role of the reader as important in the meaning-making process. One of the Reader Response theorists in Louise Rosenblatt, with her Transactional Theory of Reading.

Louise Rosenblatt

Transactional Theory of Reading(1938)Louise Rosenblatt introduced her Transactional Theory under the umbrella of Reader Response Theory. She explained that a reader “transacts” with the text (what one reads) during the reading process. The marks on the page become meaningful as the reader makes personal associations with the words, triggering memories of past events related to the words. There is thus a dynamic interaction between the reader and the text—which she termed as transaction.

Reader Response Theory

Understanding Children’s Responses to Literature

• Books for Ages and Stages (refer to this for RA Plans)• (Kiefer, 2014, p. 39; Kiefer, 2010, p.44)

Patterns of Response

• Listening Behaviors• Contact with Books• Impulse to Share• Actions and Drama• Oral Response• Written Response

How would you want your students to respond to the books you read aloud?

Literature Circles

Definition:“Literature Circles are temporary groupings of 4 or 5 students who meet regularly to discuss a work of literature that all members of the group have chosen to read” (Yopp & Yopp, 2010, p. 57)

Literature Circle in Action

• http://mediacast.ttu.edu/Mediasite/Play/e1bcb5a62f3a4244b94af5b8e5ebe5071d?catalog=4dc7289a-d3e0-4ae5-8fdc-5b86c027a06b - http://mediacast.ttu.edu/Mediasite/Play/e1bcb5a62f3a4244b94af5b8e5ebe5071d?catalog=4dc7289a-d3e0-4ae5-8fdc-5b86c027a06b

Literature Circles

• Members of a small, temporary discussion group who have chosen to read the same story, poem, article or book.

• Each member prepares to take specific responsibilities in the upcoming discussion, and everyone comes to the group with notes needed to help perform that job

• The circles have regular meetings, with discussion roles rotating each session.

• When they finish a book, the circle members plan a way to share highlights of their reading with the wider community

Literature Circles (Cont.)

• Once readers can successfully conduct their own wide-ranging, self-sustaining discussions, formal discussion roles may be dropped

• Literature circles are not a trendy label for small-group reading lessons

• Literature circles in its true essence is when independent reading and cooperative learning come together to create an exciting classroom activity

Key Features

1) Student choice2) Small temporary groups 3) Based on students’ interests4) Regular discussion5) students’ notes6) Student driven and student-centered7) open, natural conversations – authentic8) Flexibility9) Teacher is a facilitator10) Teacher observes & students evaluate themselves11) Fun & playfulness

Literature Circle Roles

• Passage Picker• Fortune Teller• Artful Artist• Summarizer• Connector • Discussion DirectorIn the next page, you will see bookmarks which you can print and provide to your students to guide them of their roles. When they are familiar with the process, then these bookmarks are unnecessary.