1st Edition

Reader Response in Elementary Classrooms Quest and Discovery

Edited By Nicholas J. Karolides Copyright 1997
382 Pages
by Routledge

382 Pages
by Routledge

384 Pages
by Routledge

Reading is a quest. Likened to an adventure -- both metaphoric and real -- the quest is a journey of discovery. The reader's search encompasses the sensations of the experience itself, accompanying emotions, sense and meaning engendered by the experience, and understandings of the self, others, and the world around. Out of curiosity, readers also search for an extensive array of information. The... Read more
Contents: Preface. Part I: Transactional Theory and Literature-Based Teaching. N.J. Karolides, Reading Process: Transactional Theory in Action. C. Cox, Literature-Based Teaching: A Student Response-Centered Classroom. Part II: Initiating and Developing Readers' Responses: Classroom Case Studies. S. Allen, P. Reed, Talking About Literature "In-Depth": Teacher Supported Group Discussions in a Fifth-Grade Classroom. P. Enciso, B. Edmiston, Drama and Response to Literature: Reading the Story, Re-Reading "The Truth." A.H. Mitchell, If I Were a Poet, I'd Say Something Beautiful. E.J. Davis, Bringing Literature to Life Through Readers' Theatre. E.B. Smith, C.D. Nelson, Body Punctuation: Reader Response in Motion. K. Hirsh, "I Can't Be Pippi 'Cause I'm Afraid to Live Alone'": Third Graders Respond to Novels. R.J. Meyer, Transactions in Action: Life in the Second Grade. P. Boyd-Batstone, Learning to Work Together in a Third-Grade Bilingual Classroom: From Transmission to Transactional Instruction With Literature. Part III: Exploring Issues: Content Area Applications. C.C. Pappas, A. Barry, Scaffolding Urban Students' Initiations: Transactions in Reading Information Books in the Reading Aloud Curriculum Genre. R. Small, Jr., A. Dean, Sharing the Responses of Readers: An Interdisciplinary Pumpkins Unit in the First Grade. E.A. Poe, N. Hicks, Journeying Through the Eastern Hemisphere: Listening and Responding to Many Voices. J.K. Spink, The Aesthetics of Informational Reading. Part IV: Professional Development. L. Karnowski, Reconsidering Teachers' Roles and Procedures: Developing Dialoguing Skills. K.G. Velsor, J. O'Neill, The Making of a Bicultural Teacher: A Classroom Case Study. C. Russell, Reader Response: One District's Initiatives.

Biography

Nicholas J. Karolides Nicholas J. Karolides, professor of English, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, frequently consults, about curriculum development and reader-response classroom applications. His experiences include middle-school teaching. His m ajor publications include The Pioneer in the American Novel, Focus on Physical Im pairments and Focus on Fitness (coauthored with daughter Melissa), Reader Response in the Classroom (editor), and Censored books: Critical Viewpoints (coeditor), which in 1995 was named Outstanding Book by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. He was honored in 1994 with the University of Wisconsin Regents Excellence in Teaching Award.

"The contributors to this volume are a good mix of university and classroom researchers, and each has an interesting story to tell or observation to make. Karolides' commentary preceding each chapter makes thismore than a collection of good ideas, guiding the novice reader to understand how reader response theory can be realized in classroom practice."
Lee Glada-Pelligrini
University of Georgia

"Teachers in our college learning communities will like this book....the case studies are so clear; there doesn't seem to be any magic needed to support this instructional strategy. I leave with the feeling that I can actually do this."
R. Kay Moss
Illinois State University

"Reflects current thinking on reader response theory, especially that of Louise Rosenblatt. Other important theory related to reader response is also addressed, including constructivist viewpoints and social interactionist theory....An excellent addition to our professional knowledge base."
Mary F. Heller
Kansas State University