Eloquently stated, Jennifer. I think, most importantly, is that there can
never be any meaning without a reader. We, as readers, bring the meaning to
the text - without our thinking - the text doesn't "mean" anything. Yes, we
need the author - but the author needs us more. :)
This was a totally new way of thinking for my students 3 or 4 years ago. They
grew up believing that you looked at the words and "found" an answer in those
words. How happy they were to discover that the "answer" - or the meaning -
was actually inside of them!
:) Dana
----- Original Message ----
From: "Palmer, Jennifer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Special Chat List for "To Understand: New Horizons in Reading
Comprehension"" <understand@literacyworkshop.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 8:46:55 PM
Subject: Re: [Understand] Chapter 8
Hmmm...This has been fun to think about. I agree that your purpose for reading
can greatly affect what you get from the text. I think we can always infer the
author's message from fiction or non-fiction. Our schema is also going to
affect the message we get ...not just our purpose for reading it. I am watching
the HBO movie about John Adams right now on DVD. The Declaration of
Independence... a non-fiction text....what was it's purpose? Was it to unite
the colonies? Inspire the masses? How would King George have understood it?
Based on his ethics and experiences, he may have gotten a very different
message than a colonist would have received.
Since comprehension is an interaction between reader and text...I think we have
to say that this will always be a gray area. Meaning is both made up and author
provided...a negotiation between the author and reader. Sometimes one has more
to add than the other. Both are always involved.
Jennifer Palmer
Reading Specialist, National Board Certified Teacher
FLES- Lead the discovery, Live the learning, Love the adventure.
"Children grow into the intellectual life around them."
-Vygotsky
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