Reading is an act of identity making. Because readers must complete the act of meaning making, the context and conditions of reading alter the shape of the storytelling event and the trajectory of meaning. This paper explains reading identity and pedagogy, providing techniques one professor used when teaching two novels (marking, tracing,…

Reading is a strategic activity. Readings are intended to make something happen and keep something else from happening. One professor discusses her struggle to situate her readings of students papers in their projects and questions and respond as a teacher to inaudible student messages. (SM)

By having students use their knowledge of real-world cultural contexts to construct text-world contexts, teachers help them understand how cultural forces within those contexts shape characters' actions. This paper describes the process of linking real- and text-world contexts, offering examples from one college class. Implications for helping…