Response & Analysis: Teaching Literature in Secondary School
Robert E. Probst
Probst’s purpose for writing this book stems from Louise Rosenblatt’s Literature as Exploration and the idea that students must “read both our texts and the world responsively and responsibly” (vii). Probst then sets out to determine what and how we, as teachers, actually do that in the classroom This book is all about helping teachers take a different perspective on teaching literature and how to engage students through response. Overall, I find Probst’s ideas to be useful and practical to help take students beyond the surface of a text.
The book’s goal can be summed up in two statements: “we must not simply submit to texts, accepting too easily what they offer us, following them too willingly wherever they would take us” (vii) and it is necessary for student to practice “reflecting conscientiously upon the experience, attitudes, and ideas that emerge from our reading, analyzing both the text and ourselves” (vii). These two concepts are the basis to the ideas presented in the subsequent chapters covering theoretical foundations, the connection between the reader and the text, other readers, and other texts, and focusing on types and themes of literature, incorporation of visual literacy, the evolution of literature curriculum, and evaluation and testing of response.
Probst, Robert E. Response & Analysis: Teaching Literature in Secondary School. 2nd Ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004. Print.
One idea that I have implemented in my classroom, not only in my head but also as a presentation to my students, deals with how a reader should interact with a text. Probst makes three guidelines that encompass this:
ReplyDelete1) The reader makes the writing in reading it.
2) The reader sees herself/himself within the writing in reading it.
3) The reader creates an experience in reading it. (51)
The idea is that students should first respond to the text and then interpret keeping in mind that the experience may change as the student continues to work with the piece. No one should have the mentality that his or her opinion is the right one and should be open-minded to the experience created. Probst suggests that “the question of the author’s intent is not negligible, then nor is it the most important question; rather, it is an issue that enables us to identify more clearly where we stand” (55). The experience with a text is that of “self-creation.” In order to do so, the students must have an environment that is susceptible to the five conditions: receptivity—welcoming with a balance, tentativeness—express unsure thoughts and change mind, rigor—willingness to think, cooperation—create a form of trust, and suitable literature—substance worthy of reflection (58-61). These three guidelines and the five conditions help to create a student-centered classroom that is based upon the experience he or she has with the text.
Possible Responses to Literature:
ReplyDelete1) Students write for five minutes—no form required or dictated response
a. Allow this to lead discussion and refer back
b. Collect and categorize into groups
c. Read the responses out loud
2) Individual write—pair read aloud—group discussion—whole class response
3) Place constraints on writing responses minimally
4) Longer paper—elaborate on reaction and support with text
I love this idea and I plan to use it with my Academic Reading students!
ReplyDeleteMemorable Book Reflection:
1) How do you remember the book and the experience?
2) With what do you associate it—your family, a room, a feeling, a particular person?
3) What can you remember of the story line and the characters?
4) What do you recall it meant to you at the time?
5) Why did you enjoy it?
6) Why do you still remember it?
I adapted these questions as my memoir exam but could be used for a lot of activities and texts.
ReplyDeleteEvaluating rather than Testing:
1) Did you enjoy reading the work? Identify why or why not.
2) Did the literary work offer any new insights or ideas? If so, did it lead you to change your own thinking? If not, did it confirm thoughts or opinions you already had?
3) Did the discussion reveal anything about the work, about your classmates, or about yourself?
This makes sense and the students can evaluate themselves, too!
ReplyDeleteGrading by Evaluating Using a Checklist:
1) Does the student seem willing to express response to a work, or is s/he cautious and constrained?
2) Does the student ever change her mind, or is she intransigent?
3) Does the student participate I discussion listening to others, considering ideas offered, and presenting her own thoughts?
4) Does the student distinguish between the thoughts and feelings she brings to a literary work and those that can be reasonable attributed to the text?
5) Is the student able to distinguish between fact, inference, and opinion in the reading of a literary work?
6) Is the student able to relate the literary work to other human experience, especially her own—that is can she generalize and abstract?
7) Does the student accept the responsibility for making meaning out of the literature and the discussions? Or does she depend on others to tell her what works mean?
8) Does the student perceive differences and similarities in the visions offered by different literary works, or are the unaware of the subtleties?
9) Other observations