Reading is a transaction between the text and the reader. As students read, they search for and construct meaning based on what they bring to the text and what the text brings to them.
| Author Presents | Reader Brings |
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It is important to develop fluent and proficient readers who are knowledgeable about the reading process. Effective readers are active readers who use a repertoire of comprehension strategies before, during, and after interacting with texts. Proficient readers bring their backgrounds to the reading, have a plan for comprehending a range of texts, interact with the texts (building interpretations as they read), and shape their responses based on their reading.
Before reading, strategic readers preview the text by looking at the title and the text to evoke relevant thoughts, memories, and associations. They build background by questioning themselves to see what they already know about the topic, the form in which the topic is presented, and the vocabulary that might communicate the ideas about the topic. They set purposes for reading by asking themselves what they want to learn during the reading episode.
During reading, strategic readers create a dialogue with the author, striving to reformulate what the author is saying. They check their understanding of the text by paraphrasing the author's words and they monitor it by imagining, inferring, and predicting. They integrate their new understanding with existing knowledge. They are continually revising their purposes for reading as they read.
After reading, strategic readers summarize what they have been reading and contemplate their first impressions. They reflect and take second looks to develop more thoughtful and critical interpretations of the text. Finally, they make applications of the ideas encountered in the text by extending these ideas to broader perspectives (Flood & Lapp, 1991, p. 732).
Successful language learners adapt these strategies as they construct meaning from a variety of literary and media texts and experiences.
Another characteristic that most distinguishes proficient readers from ineffective readers is that they read often and regularly. As they read, their reading improves. Ineffective readers often choose to avoid reading and do not develop the same love of literature or the lifelong habit of reading as a rewarding leisure-time pursuit. Teachers can assist these readers. They can make a major difference in students' success or failure to read literature effectively by promoting, coaching, and facilitating reading in their classrooms.
Teachers also have the knowledge to provide the titles that will bridge students' interests. They can choose those literary selections that provide a balanced reading component in their English language arts program. This balance can be achieved in a number of ways: providing several types of books and genres, allowing for both teacher-guided and self-directed reading, and including intensive and extensive reading materials.
A balanced education includes experiences with a range of written, spoken, and media texts--informational and literary. The balance should include a mix of the traditional and contemporary texts. The classics still connect with students through their timeless themes and characters; contemporary literature acknowledges the importance of the here and now. There should be a balance of themes and issues presented in the selections. As well, consideration should be given to a balance of gender (authors, characters, issues), culture (Anglocentric versus multicultural), Canadian versus international works, and literary genre (prose, poetry, and plays).
The balance also should include selections chosen by students for individual, small group, and independent reading and those chosen by the teacher for whole class and guided reading and study. Guided reading may also occur in small group settings where students choose a selection from five or six selections chosen by the teacher for classroom study.
In addition, teachers should pay attention to balancing the intensive (careful, close reading with a focus on the author's craft and literary elements) and extensive (reading with a focus on personal enjoyment and application of previously learned strategies) study of literature. The teacher should also ensure that there are varying degrees of difficulty in those selections chosen for reading. A balanced reading program includes opportunities for personal response and opportunities for critical response
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Finally, teachers need to share their love of literature and model and teach the strategies that students need. It is important to find time:
| Reading and Responding | Instructional Strategies | Reader's Workshop | Questions | Extensive Reading | Assessment of Reading |