This article describes part of a study that explored the responses of nine- and ten-year-old children during a picture book read aloud in a small group setting in a New Zealand classroom. The read aloud was interactive, where the participants were encouraged to respond to the book and to each other throughout the session. The authors created a…

Textbooks and grammar worksheets do not adequately convey to students how readers or listeners are shaped by the language of the writer. The best way to help students understand the emphasis of a dash or another device is to see one used during a suspenseful moment in a dramatic selection. It is up to the teacher to select dramatic works that…

The engagement of immigrant children in literature discussion groups in an elementary school classroom in the United States is studied in this article. The analysis shows how the students' responses are embedded in translocal movements across places, time, and people that can be characterized as constructing dynamic cultural flows. The findings…

When response activities and comprehension strategies are combined, classroom instruction can enhance student engagement and understanding of a text, enrich student response, and improve students' awareness of their own strategic reading. This article presents some activities, adapted from the new IRA book "Children's Literature in the Reading…

This issue of "School Talk" brings together the ideas of purposefulness and intertextuality together in a teaching practice called intentional intertextual inquiry. "Making Inquiry Intentional and Intertextual" (Karen Smith, Sarah Diaz, and Silvia Edgerton) discusses the framework that combines inquiry-based learning and intertextuality within…

Students in Ginger M. Eikmeier's high school classes link themes and terms from their readings to episodes of "The Simpsons." Because students are already familiar with "The Simpsons," Eikmeier believes that using the show supports students' comprehension and retention by activating prior knowledge. Additionally, it shows students that she cares…

The preservice teachers from all disciplines will be benefited if they incorporate reading in their classes according to Dr. Louise Rosenblatt's reader-response theory. A teacher's experience with her students while reading Chris Crutcher's "Staying Fat for Sarah Byanes" in the Secondary Content Area and a student's response on the novel are…

Drawing on data associated with an investigation of classroom read alouds and discussions of children's literature, this article conceptualizes the reading aloud and discussions of picturebooks as an "interpretive space" for elementary grade students' exploration of visual images and written text. Analyzing the types of responses…

Provides information on how teachers can contribute additional encouragement, direction, and guidance for exploring and expanding intermediate-grade students' personal response to literature. Describes eight response options and offers guidelines. (PRA)

Responds to an article in an earlier issue of this journal about using reading response in a college literature classroom. Argues that the use of reader-response theory with two-year college students requires some caution. (SR)

Louise Rosenblatt's reader response theory can be applied effectively to film study in the classroom. Although there are differences between film and literature, the processes that one uses to make sense of literature and film are similar, and Rosenblatt's theory provides not only a valuable addition to film theory, but teachers of film study will…

Explains how journal dialogues (student interaction with author) act as an intermediate step between purely personal responses to a text and formal interpretations for a public audience and how they encourage students to explore and develop ideas for essay writing. (HOD)

Argues that Christa Wolf's novel "Patterns of Childhood" provides opportunities for students to consider the adolescent dilemmas of the protagonist Nelly and to reflect on how they themselves are coming to terms with the world. Notes that the novel forces students to see Nazi Germany with new eyes. (RS)

Discusses a teacher's difficulties in using reader response approaches to engage her students at an urban alternative high school. Examines their resistances to discussion and personal response. Offers a few approaches the teacher has been trying, with some success, to overcome these resistances. (TB)

Examines effect of teaching approaches on students' responses to three picture books. Finds that students in a "literary analysis" group focused on identification of literary elements; students in a "literary experience" group indicated more involvement in the story world; and students who did not discuss the stories were more…