Introducing Reader Response
Robert
E. Probst -- Response and Analysis
Milner
and Milner – Bridging English
Louise
Rosenblatt –“The Challenge of Literature”
In the first two chapters of Robert
E. Probst’s Response and Analysis are
about the reader response and how to help connect students to the text they are
reading. Essentially, Probst gives his
audiences examples of how students need to care about what they are doing
before they will really care about the text.
These concepts are also modeled in Milner and Milner’s Bridging English and Louise Rosenblatt’s
article “The Challenge of Literature”.
All three texts support each other when discussing how teachers should approach
reading with their students: let students respond to the reading in their own
way.
Because English is more subjective
than other subjects, like math and science, teachers should use this as an
advantage, not a disadvantage. Teachers
should not approach books and readings like there is only one way of interpreting
it. According to all of the authors from
today’s reading, this will not enhance the environment and allow students to
enjoy literature. Probst even goes on to
say that there is only so much room for the modern day teacher to use the new
criticism theory because the author’s intent is not going to be the best way to
engage students (Probst). Instead, teachers have to reinvent how students
approach literature. Prost states, “The pleasures that first drew us to literature
were not those of the literary scholars” (Probst). Instead, he argues that the initial feelings
we have when we read is what extracts us to literature. This is how we should show are students how
to read as well. By allowing students to respond in their own way, students are
more engaged in what they are reading.
Rosenblatt also discusses this in “The Challenge of Literature” because she
believes that the personal feelings that students invoke while they are reading
is what can shape them as people. She
states, “…literary materials contribute powerfully to the student’s images of
the world, himself, and the human condition” (Rosenblatt). Therefore, students should be pushed to think
for themselves, rather than repeat the information that teachers tell them they
“should” know. Additionally, the class
discussion can go in many more directions now that there is no one way to teach
it. Every student will have a different outlook
on each reading, and students can learn from each other. Because they are the ones that are
interpreting the reading, they will automatically become more engaged.
Along with allowing students to
individually respond to the reading as a way to lead class discussion, Probst
also discusses how important the reader response is in the beginning of the
lesson. This is the “hook” that makes
students interested in what the subject of what they are reading before the
even start. Milner and Milner’s Bridging English also explains the importance
of this. They explain that this is the
first thing a teacher should do at the beginning of any engaging lesson. This is a part of the “entering” stage. Essentially, this is where students “enter”
into the lesson, and it is up to the teacher to capture their attention. Bridging English has many examples of
this. Some include: personal triggers, suppositional
readers, conceptual readiness, character maps, and opinion surveys (Milner and
Milner)). Two of my favorite reader
responses are personal triggers and opinion survey because this initiates
cognitive thinking on a personal level.
By asking students to complete an opinion survey, they are already being
introduced to the major themes that will be discussed throughout the literary
text, but their personal feelings are also being considered.
Altogether, the way teachers
approach reading and the reader response will greatly affect how students are influenced
by literature. After leaving our
classrooms, we want students to be able to think for themselves, no more about themselves
as individual people, and we want them to be able to pick up a book and find
interpret it on their own. The best way to
do this is through response based reading.
The best way to get students to initiate this response is through the
proper use of person triggers in a reader response activity.
NOTE:
The artifact I have chosen to correlate with this assignment is an anticipation
guide. This is essentially an opinion survey that has been put on a Likert
Scale for students to think about the main themes of Romeo and Juliet before
actually reading it. Below, I have
submitted to an online link that they can use to submit their answers and a
print copy that could be handed out as well.
After students have had a few minutes to choose an answer and think
about their opinions, the students will share their answers with the class
before starting the reading. This will
engage students before actually beginning with the reading.
The link to the online version:
Paper Version:
Anticipation Guide for Romeo and Juliet
Please read the following questions and mark the response
you agree with the most. As you answer each question, take any notes that you
may need for when we discuss these questions in class. Thank you!
Does love at first site really exist?
Yes 1 2 3 4 No
Can hate overpower love?
Yes 1 2 3 4 No
Can love overpower hate?
Yes 1 2 3 4 No
Can someone be too young to fall in love?
Yes 1 2 3 4 No
Does family influence a person's ability to fall in love?
Yes 1 2 3 4 No
Should love influence the decisions you make?
Yes 1 2 3 4 No
Does the story of Romeo and Juliet only work for the time
period it was written in?
Yes 1 2 3 4 No
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI always forget about the other subjects of math, science, history, etc. I forget everybody isn’t teaching with English on the brain. But you are so right—English teachers have an opportunity to create a good learning environment with such a subjective subject. We get to teach something from multiple different perspectives just by nature, and that is something profoundly cool that other subjects maybe don’t have as much freedom with. Personal response is something I have learned to love. Growing up being given writing prompts, it’s hard to break away from that. When students do finally get a taste of freedom, it’s like they’ve discovered a whole new world.
You don’t know how much I love a good anticipation guide!! Especially the one you have created. The thing I love about the questions is that they can go both ways—I love to watch students try and come up with a concrete answer only to find that they can’t! It’s such a good learning experience, and students have so many different personal aspects about them that their answers truly depend on who they are. I’m keeping this one in mind for a future Romeo and Juliet lesson!
Thanks for the good read,
Maggie