EDRG 3321 Literature for Public Schools/ Chapter 3

I learned many things in this chapter (Understanding What We Read). One of the most important things this chapter talks about is how every reader interprets the text in a different way. This process is called reading transaction and is composed of three parts: the reader, the text, and the poem or message. Each reader brings their own experiences, knowledge, and background to reading. This means that teachers cannot expect the readers to have the same interpretations from the reading and they shouldn't force them to gather the same meaning from a reading either. The text is the second part of the transaction and once it has been written by the author then they have no more control over it. The last part of the transaction is the message and this refers to the author's intended meaning. The reader will not always interpret the text as the author intends them to. The chapter also talked about readability, which refers to the level of difficulty of a particular passage. It has been concluded that there is no specific way to assess the readibility of a text and the best way to address this is listening to the reader as well as helping them learn to select their own reading material. Another topic talked about in the chapter is the vocabulary or lexicon of the students. The best way for students to expand their vocabulary is in context rather than in isolation. Students need multiple encounters with words to have a lasting understanding of their meanings (pag. 51). This means that the student can broaden their vocabulary with good literature and the more they read the more their vocabulary will grow. Literature is definately a very important part of building a students knowledge. As teachers we need to encourage the students to embrace literature where they will be able to expand their experiences, vocabulary, and with time learn to select their own reading materials.

AUTHOR PROFILE:

I would like to share a great author with you. I am sure that this author will bring back memories to some of you since she has written many classic books that are read in many classrooms. Lois Lowry among other books is the author of The Giver, one of my personal favorites. This book is about a young 12 year old boy that lives in a perfect community. He soon finds out the truth about his community. There is no turning back. How will he handle the truth?

This book is great for the classroom to discuss governments, communities, etc. This is a great book that many students will be able to relate to.









Another book I absolutely love by Lois Lowry is Number the Stars that takes place in 1943 and narrates a 10 year old, young girl's point of view. She lives in Denmark and is confused about the changes the German occupation has brought about in her life. This book is appropriate for third grade and up.



To find out more about the author you can visit her website (http://www.loislowry.com/).