reader response theory assignment

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Reader Response Theory

Introduction, general overview.

• Foundational/Seminal Texts
• Cultural and Social Perspectives
• Multicultural Perspectives
• Experiential Theories of Response
• Feminist Perspectives
• Gender Theory
• New Literacies and Multimodal Literacies
• Phenomenology Theory
• Postmodern Perspectives
• Psychological Processes, Participant and Spectator Stances
• Subjective Reader Response Theory
• Transactional Theory
• Application of the Transactional Theory
• Critical Theories

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• Louise Rosenblatt

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Reader Response Theory by Susan Browne , Xiufang Chen , Faten Baroudi , Esra Sevinc LAST MODIFIED: 21 April 2021 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780190221911-0107

This annotated bibliography presents influential work in the area of reader response theory. While providing an overview of major research in the area of reader response, the annotated bibliography also provides current research representing various categories of reader response. The citations are organized by their dominant characteristics although there may be some overlap across categories.

Reader response theory identifies the significant role of the reader in constructing textual meaning. In acknowledging the reader’s essential role, reader response diverges from early text-based views found in New Criticism, or brain-based psychological perspectives related to reading. Literacy scholars such as David Bleich, Norman Holland, Stanley Fish, and Wolfgang Iser are instrumental in crafting what has come to be known as reader response. The theory maintains that textual meaning occurs within the reader in response to text and recognizes that each reader is situated in a particular manner that includes factors such as ability, culture, gender, and overall experiences. However, according to Tomkins’s 1980 edited volume Reader-Response Criticism: From Formalism to Post-structuralism , reader response is not a representation of a uniform position, but is rather a term associated with theorists whose work addresses the reader, the reading process, and textual response. Although Tompkins omits the work of Louise Rosenblatt, it is Rosenblatt’s work that has come to have a vast influence in the field of reader response. Prior to the work of the New Critics, Louise Rosenblatt wrote the now-seminal text Literature as Exploration , first published in 1938, which was distinct in emphasizing both the reader and the text. In later editions of the text, Rosenblatt draws on the work of John Dewey and shifts from the use of the word “interaction” to describe reading as a “transaction,” thus giving life to the transactional theory of reading. The references in this section, including Applebee 1992 , Beach 1993 , Barton 2002 , and Harkin 2005 , provide an overview of reader response theory.

Applebee, A. “The Background for Reform.” In Literature Instruction: A Focus on Student Response . Edited by J. Langer, 1–18. Champaign, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1992.

This book chapter reviews a series of studies of the elementary and secondary school curriculum, providing a rich portrait of literature instruction and suggesting a series of issues that needed to be addressed in the teaching of literature. It set the background for reform.

Barton, J. “Thinking about Reader-Response Criticism.” The Expository Times 113.5 (2002): 147–151.

DOI: 10.1177/001452460211300502

An article that outlines reader response criticism through the lens of biblical scholarly inquiry.

Beach, R. A Teacher’s Introduction to Reader-Response Theories . Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1993.

This book offers an in-depth review of reader response theory for teachers to build foundational knowledge to aptly use in their classrooms. Topics discussed include textual theories of response, experiential theories of response, psychological theories of response, social theories of response, cultural theories of response, and applying theory into practice, eliciting response. Key reviews of reader response criticism and glossary terms are also explored throughout the text.

Harkin, P. “The Reception of Reader-Response Theory.” College Composition and Communication 56.3 (2005): 410–425.

This essay provides a historical explanation for the place of reader response theory in English studies. The author takes a genealogical look at how reader response theory has been celebrated or rejected in English departments and what this suggests about conflicted relations between composition studies and literary studies and between research and pedagogy during the past two or three decades in the United States.

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06-420 Literary Theory and Criticism

I completed this project as a capstone toward the requirement for my Scholar's diploma and in conjunction with my Literary Theory and Criticism class.  The goal of the project was to take Reader Response theory and create lesson plans that apply it in a manner appropriate for the high school classroom.  To tailor it toward my student teaching placement, I chose to explore Brazilian literature.  The project focuses on a Brazilian short story, "The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal" by Milton Hatoum and includes two relevant lesson plans and accompanying materials.  I am proud of this project because the challenge of finding the full text of a Brazillan short story in translation stretched me as a researcher, and the overall goal of the project pushed me to make what I was learning applicible to my academic and career goals by connecting it to student teaching.

The Project

Scholar’s Project—Reader Response Lesson Plans

Introduction

The goal of this project is to take the concepts of Reader Response theory and apply them in lessons that could be used with high school students.

Reader Response theory is a type of literary criticism that emerged in the 1930s and gained recognition in the 1960s.  The theory is a response to New Criticism, and rejects the New Critical assumption that a text is autonomous, focusing instead on a reader’s transaction with the text.  In Reader Response, each reader brings their own experiences of gender, age, life experiences, religion, taste in reading, and experience in reading communities to the text; therefore, readings are unique and fluid, changing over time as the reader himself changes.  Reader response distinguishes between ideal readers, the reader that the author imagined, and the actual readers, in this case, my class and I, and is interested in how each sees the text.  Related to that, Reader Response also advocates a balance in attention to the reader’s response and speculation about the author’s intent.  Since Reader Response encourages a wide variety of responses to a text, validity is based on textual evidence and articulation of ideas.

One of the strengths of Reader Response is that no one needs to be an expert reader in order to have something to say about a text.  Anyone can participate in the conversation and a variety of backgrounds lead to a diverse range of perspectives on a given text.  Therefore, it is a great theory to use in the high school classroom.  The articles and book in the annotated bibliography provide research on the usefulness of Reader Response and suggestions for implementation in the classroom.  Studies show that approaches that stem from Reader Response theory are effective in getting students to engage more deeply and meaningfully in a text as well as helping students to develop an appreciation for reading for pleasure.

For this project, I chose to explore Brazilian Literature, in anticipation of my student teaching placement in Rio de Janeiro.  These lessons focus on a short story, “The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal” by Milton Hatoum, a Brazilian author.  Although I read several Brazilian short stories, I chose this one because I believe that it is written at an appropriate level for high school sophomores, a grade I could potentially have as a student teacher and would also eventually like to teach.  The story also provides a substantial amount of material for Reader Response application—a foreign setting, foreign character traits, and an untrustworthy narrator—all of which individual students’ responses to will help the class create meaning from the text.

The two lessons included here are representative of three days of a weeklong mini-unit on this text.  These lessons are the first and fourth of the mini-unit.  The first lesson focuses on students’ responses to the unfamiliar setting described in the first paragraph and how that influences their perceptions of the woman character.  The fourth lesson wraps up our discussion of the story, raises the question of whether or not we trust the narrator and why, and presents the assignment that serves as the summative assessment.  In between, we will spend a day on the identity of the watchman, and a day on the symbolism and allusions of the text.  The final day of the mini-unit will be spent working on the summative assessment.

On the first day, I chose to have the students visualize the unknown place so that they could get a sense of how they create meaning with unfamiliar details and how that affects the reading.  By having them share their ideas with each other and then compare their impressions with actual pictures of Manuas, the story’s setting, and then asking how that changes their reading of the first paragraph, I hoped to apply one of the key points of Reader Response—that the background knowledge and experiences that we bring to the text shape our reading.  For the next lesson, the fourth day of the unit, I wanted students to think about ideal readers, actual readers, and authorial intent, although I do not explicitly present those terms to them.  We achieve this in our discussions by looking at the ambiguity that surrounds Senhor Alvaro, the main character, the questions we still have after reading, and how/why the author might have chosen to structure the text in specific ways to create those questions.

Included with the lesson plans are some of the materials necessary for each lesson.

Lesson Plan 1

Teacher Name: Kelly Schreiber

Date: Monday of the Mini-Unit

Course: English 2

Grade Level: Sophomores

Ability Level: Mixed

Time: 50 minutes

1. Materials/Technology needed:

• Copies of the first paragraph of “The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal” and directions
• Colored Pencils or Markers
• Computer with Projector and Screen

2. Common Core Standards:

• CC.ELA.RL.9-10.6 Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
• CC.ELA.RL.9-10.7 Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).

3. Learning Objectives:

• Students will read the first paragraph of “The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal” by Milton Hatoum and describe their initial impression of the story’s setting through drawing or writing.
• Students will evaluate how their initial impression of the woman character is formed by the description and their imagination of the setting.
• Students will compare their impression of the setting with real pictures of Manaus, noticing similarities and differences.
• Students will evaluate whether their new knowledge of the setting changes their impression of the woman character.

4. Introductory Activity: The teacher will ask students to close their eyes and visualize the following scene.  Then the teacher will read the first paragraph of “The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal.”  The teacher will ask students to open their eyes, and explain that what they just heard is the opening paragraph to the next short story they will be reading. [3 minutes] 

5. Instructional Procedures with approximate times: The teacher will distribute copies of the paragraph and directions for the activity to the students.  The teacher will explain the directions, asking students to either draw the scene that they imagined, including as many details as possible, or write a paragraph about it using descriptive word choice.  The teacher will share an example and a non-example to demonstrate the expectation for descriptive word choice.  The teacher will encourage students to re-read the paragraph from the text on their own several times as they work.  [5 minutes]  Students will have time to work on their drawing or writing, and the teacher will circulate and check on students.  [12 minutes]  Students will then asked be to share their products briefly with the students around them, in groups of four, and then answer the question: does the way I imagine the setting affect how I imagine the woman character?  [10 minutes]  Groups will then report out to the rest of the class. [5 minutes]  The teacher will then show pictures on the overhead and talk about where Manaus, the setting of the story, is and what the places mentioned look like.  [5 minutes]  In their groups, students will be asked to answer the questions: how does Manaus compare to how I imagined it?  and does this new information influence how I imagine the woman character?  Students will discuss it with each other and then each student will create an exit slip that answers those questions in a couple of sentences.  [5 minutes]

6. Closure Activity: Groups will report out to the rest of the class.  [5 minutes]  Drawings/paragraphs and exit slips will be collected as students leave.

7. Assessment(s):  The drawing/paragraph serves as an informal assessment to see which details of the introductory paragraph the students picked up on, as well as if they have any prior knowledge of Manaus.  The exit slip also serves as another informal assessment that shows students thinking about the discussion prompts.  Both will receive points for completion.

8. Adaptations or Accommodations needed:

• Directions provided verbally and in writing for different learning modalities
• Drawing and writing options available for students who feel more comfortable expressing themselves in one way or another
• Students who have trouble with fine motor skills can use pencil grips around colored pencils or segments of pool noodles around markers if they want to do the drawing option.  They also can use a computer (keyboard or speech to text software) to complete the writing option.
• Students who have trouble writing can dictate exit slip responses to a peer, a paraprofessional, or the teacher
• Students who struggle with social interaction will receive preparation for how to contribute to group discussion and will receive more supervision during group work time

Directions: Re-read the following paragraph.  Then choose one of the following options:

1.) Draw a picture that shows how you imagine the setting of this paragraph. Include as many details as possible, including buildings, people, weather, landmarks, etc.  Be mindful of the message that your color choices and the perspective that you choose to draw from.  Try to reproduce what you imagined as well as you can.  Feel free to re-read the paragraph as many times as you need to while you are working.

2.) Write a paragraph that describes how you imagine the setting of this paragraph.  Include as many details as possible, including buildings, people, weather, landmarks, etc.  Be mindful of the words you use and try to include vivid details that help the reader enter your imagination and visualize what you are thinking of.  Feel free to re-read the paragraph as many times as you need to while you are working.

THE TRUTH IS A SEVEN-HEADED ANIMAL

MILTON HATOUM

She was a shadow lost in a flooded world. We still don't know her name or where she lives. Some say the poor woman's from a hole in the wall in the ragged Colinas district; others have seen her roaming the alleys of the Ceu neighborhood, and God only knows whether she's a daughter of the city or the jungle. They say she tried to check into Santa Casa Hospital, but the security guard shooed her away and she was caught in a fierce downpour in the middle of Praca Sao Sebastiao. The church was closed, the square deserted, house fronts silent. Somehow it all seemed linked to the dread that comes with the December rainy season here in Manaus. She must have felt the first contractions as she wandered the square outside our majestic Opera House. We can imagine her eyes searching for someone to help her, but there was not a living soul in sight. Rather than struggling with the stairs, she dragged herself up the nearest ramp to the entrance, somehow managed to pull open the massive wooden doors, and crawled inside.

Images to be Projected

(Found via Google Image Searches)

--Unable to be inserted here, please see attached file--

Lesson Plan 2

Date: Thursday of the Mini-Unit

• Copies of the full text of “The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal”
• Copies of the assignment sheet for the summative assessment
• Highlighters
• CC.ELA.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
• CC.ELA.RL.9-10.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
• Students will finish reading “The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal” and evaluate Senhor Alvaro’s credibility.
• Students will describe how Hatoum’s choices as an author create the doubt about the main character.
• Students will begin to present a case for whether or not Senhor Alvaro’s story is to be believed.

4. Introductory Activity: The teacher will ask for a volunteer to summarize what has happened in the story so far, and what the previous day’s discussion included to refresh students’ memories and catch up anyone who was absent.  Other volunteers and the teacher can add on, until a solid summary is established.  [3 minutes]

5. Instructional Procedures with approximate times: The teacher will ask students to pull out their copies of the story and will ask for volunteers to read the last four paragraphs aloud.  [10 minutes]  The teacher will draw names and ask students to share their initial reactions to the ending and any questions that they may have.  The teacher will list student questions on the board.  [7 minutes]  The teacher will then lead a discussion on how Hatoum creates these questions/tensions and what meaning we can make from the story.  Topics that will be posed for student discussion include the identity of the narrator, changes in how Senhor Alvaro is referred to, at what point we begin to question what we are seeing through Senhor Alvaro’s eyes, whether the ending changes how we view any of the earlier scenes, whether we consider the woman from the Praca Sao Sebastio credible, how the final revelation of the story as a submission for a weekly column with the same name as the title changes our reading, and any student questions.  The teacher will continually encourage students to back up their claims with evidence from the text and encourage all students to participate.  [20 minutes]

6. Closure Activity: At the end of the discussion, the teacher will ask students to decide whether or not they think Senhor Alvaro is sane/whether the events of the story actually occurred.  The teacher will distribute the assignment sheet for tomorrow’s activity and walk students through the directions.  [3 minutes]  Students will be asked to begin going through the text and highlighting evidence that supports their position. [7 minutes]

7. Assessment(s): Based on class discussion, the teacher can informally assess where the class as a whole, and individual students, are at with the text, but no data will be collected.  The assignment that students begin at the end of the period will serve as the summative assessment of the mini-unit.

• Reading out loud is done on a volunteer basis
• Large print copies of the story can be provided for visually impaired students
• The teacher can use proximity cues to prepare students who have trouble processing questions to warn them when the teacher is about to call on them.  The teacher can also increase wait time to allow students to process the question and formulate an answer.
• Students who have trouble with fine motor skills can use segments of pool noodles around the highlighter or ask a peer, paraprofessional, or the teacher to highlight sections for them.

The Opera House was empty. Now and again a sudden flash of light would scratch the window and a rumble boom down from the sky like a warning. Hauling herself along, the woman plunged into a shadowy place where nothing -- except her damp body and wet hair -- recalled the wet tumult outside. She found herself in the Opera House auditorium, where a sloping aisle led her down near the stage. She lay down on the velvety red between the rows, waiting for the propitious moment to give birth.

Maybe it was the thunder's crack that broke the silence reigning over the refuge -- no one knows for certain what set the chandeliers that dangled from the high dome to swaying. We do know, however, that the disturbance registered in a small attic room where, stretched in a hammock, the self-proclaimed watchman of the Opera House lay drifting far from the world.

Alvaro Celestino de Matos -- a taciturn 87-year-old with the accent of an immigrant from the Minho region of Portugal -- woke with a start. There it was again -- the strange noise he'd imagined he'd been dreaming: the voice of a singer from a distant night in childhood. He floated for a while in that shifting place where sleep and dream mysteriously merge, unsure whether what he heard was a product of the storm or of a certain Thursday in 1910: the famous day -- still crystal in memory -- when as a boy he had waxed and waxed the stage, lovingly preparing it to receive the precious feet of Angiolina Zanuchi, Soprano.

Nothing, or almost nothing, had changed about his modest room since that day: conspicuous on the wall beside the window was a photograph of the singer descending the gangplank of the Queen Elizabeth. But it was impossible to look at the photograph without also taking in the view out the window: a single church spire with a belfry and a bell as regular as the rain-until nightfall, when the silhouette of the church faded and a lunar disk appeared in the center of the window. These two images -- the picture of the soprano and the profile of the Church of Sao Sebastiao --were unalterably linked in both vision and memory. For how many years had he been gazing at them before sleep -- sixty, seventy? He would drift off with those two images in his head, and on waking the first thing he'd do was to light the kerosene lamp, so that a flame lit up Angiolina's face beside the moon-flooded landscape.

Yesterday, when Seu Alvaro opened his eyes, the view from his window looked like an aquarium full of brownish water, and the contours of the singer's face had disappeared; only the broadside of the ship emerged from the murk of his attic room. The watchman wasn't sure in this lingering night whether the sound he heard was a human voice or the chords of a piano, but it no longer belonged to sleep or dream. It seemed to come from a long way off, probably from inside the Opera House, down below.

For a man approaching his nineties, the distance from the attic to the ground floor was practically an abyss. This did not discourage him. He decided to brave the journey armed with his Winchester, which had intimidated countless men and brought down countless animals in times past. Now, almost the same height as his stooped frame, the rifle served as a cane.

The descent was slow and arduous, but it wasn't fatigue that set him to shaking the moment he stepped onto the carpeted ground floor. Seu Alvaro realized that this sudden trembling had nothing to do with age; instinct told him that something ominous was about to happen this rainy morning. Was the half-open entryway door a sign of an intruder? He glanced out at the monument. Of the four bronze boats, only one was visible, seemingly adrift in the center of the square, and the wings of a submerged angel looked like an anchor floating free in space. Pushing the door fully open with the butt of the gun, the watchman noticed a red stain that trailed along the floor and disappeared into the auditorium. Choosing another route, he turned down one of the side corridors: a winding wall of doors that gave onto the main floor boxes. He had decided to slip into the seventh box and was already turning the doorknob when he heard the sound again -- odder now, more threatening. And so he stood and waited a few seconds, and this moment of hesitation -- the anxiety of an old man? -- caused him to change his mind. Turning away from the door, a strange sensation led him to the backstage area. There he found a safe haven on the stage, with the painted canvas curtain separating him from the concert hall itself.

Wary but not unsteady -- his past, his profession, and perhaps his rifle all helping to keep him calm -- the watchman felt his way along the closest wall and found, among the spider webs, a wooden handle. He yanked it upwards. A thread of light shot toward him through a hole in the curtain, which glowed with sudden brightness from the other side. The watchman could well envision the shapes and colors of the immense paintings now visible in the hall: herons and storks surrounded by white lilies and other aquatic flowers, and a water nymph reclining on a shell that floated atop the "Meeting of the Waters" of the Rio Negro and the Rio Amazonas. Seu Alvaro moved up to the curtain, bringing his right eye directly to the hole, and shivered when he realized that the ring of light coincided with the water nymph's outlined navel. Steadying himself on his rifle, he scanned the hall, searching for the source of the noise that had awoken him. It was disheartening, somehow, to find the hall deserted, chandeliers and upholstery dusty, plaster busts of Bach and Shubert -- in past times honored by famous pianists -- lusterless.

Today the hall looked utterly abandoned, the boxes empty ... until that one wide-open eye detected a shadow -- perhaps a body? -- down front near the stage. For the first time the watchman was a little afraid. He put on his glasses, bringing the hall into a clearer focus: more of his old friends, busts of Carlos Gomes, Racine, and Moliere. And, there in a front row seat, the glistening body of a dark-haired woman.

The watchman lurched back from the curtain and stood there, imagining the painting on the other side: the water nymph lying on her shell, almost naked, a white and luxuriant body accented by the light. Then he touched his right hand to the curtain and gently caressed the nymph's belly; the roughness of the canvas on his skin jolted him into remembering that it really was a painting. He lined his eye up with the hole in the curtain again: the woman had crossed her legs. Her hair hung down over her breasts. From this distance he couldn't make out the expression on her face, but the eyes seemed large, almond-shaped maybe. Her posture, demeanor? That body was simply a body. Not more than twenty years old, he thought to himself, as the woman leaned back in her chair, cradling a baby in her arms. She enfolded the infant tenderly, and, when she opened her mouth, he expected a voice or a song; but it was merely a yawn. Then the woman began licking the baby's face, her lips and tongue gleaming in the light from the chandelier. As if in a dream, the hall suddenly went black, just like that. The watchman closed his eyes and struck the floor several times impatiently with his rifle. As the noise echoed through the theater, he guffawed once, then smiled at himself. Giving in fully to laughter, he didn't notice the loss of his gun until he staggered and fell to his knees. Two men dressed in white dragged him downstage through the gloom and deposited him in the middle of some old scenery: a small room with wooden walls and a single window that framed a church spire and belfry in a sky bright with tin foil stars, with a cardboard moon hung in the air like a mobile. One of the nurses flicked a light on and lunged at Seu Alvaro when he tried to climb into the hammock that was part of the old set. He was breathing heavily, his eyes never wavering from a certain spot on the curtain, as if to drill through to the front row seat just on the other side.

Night had fallen by the time they arrived at the Estrada de Flores Mental Hospital. We found him lying on a straw mattress. His hands were shaking badly, but on his wrinkled face he wore an enigmatic smile. Raspy-voiced and somber, he related what had happened yesterday morning in the Opera House. Dr. S.L., the psychiatrist on duty, stated that Senhor de Mato's declaration was consistent with that of a man who had for some time been suffering the swamp of senility. Before hospitalization, his nomad's life had followed the course of the seasons: in summer, dawn would find him in one of the bronze boats of the monument in the Praca Sao Sebastiao, where he spent hours contemplating the statue of a woman. During the rainy season, he took refuge in the abandoned scenery of the Opera House, where he'd been found on several occasions, either singing or staring at one of the seats in the front of the hall.

One particular element in the former watchman's story caught our attention. In one of his pockets, the doctor found a very old photograph of a woman and a boy holding hands. The woman's fleshy body under her fight skirt, two plumpish arms, a fan clasped in her left hand -- all of this is clearly visible in the picture. But the upper section of the photograph is blotchy, worn, making the woman's face unrecognizable. Could she be Angiolina, the alleged heartthrob of the watchman in his adolescence? Our archives confirm that "the divine Milanese soprano," as she was proclaimed by the citizenry, did in fact make a visit to Manaus on a December night in the year 1910.

Another hypothesis, suggested by Dr. S.L., proposes that the woman in the photograph is a local Amazonian pianist known to have given several recitals during the time Seu Alvaro worked as a watchman at the Opera House. Who could forget the story of how she later drowned not far from the "Meeting of the Waters"? Her last concert, Sunrise Sonata in F Minor, also looms large in the memory of the whole city, though no doubt recalled with greatest intensity by that boy, now so ancient.

Senhor de Mato's psychological condition remains undiagnosed. Will he turn out to be merely a mythomaniac? Simply suffering from somniloquy? A victim of a crisis of delirium tremens? What he saw, or said he saw --will it prove to have been lunatic delusions? A resident of the Praca Sao Sebastiao swears that she saw a pregnant woman dragging herself into the Opera House. Yesterday's thunderous downpour didn't cause her to veer from her course for a minute, said our informant, who, we should point out, is a regular reader of this weekly column, The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal.

Assignment Sheet

“The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal” Writing Response

(50 points, Due Friday at the end of class)

CONTEXT : In “The Truth is a Seven-Headed Animal,” the reader experiences the first half of the story through the eyes of Senhor Alvaro.  Later, alternative perspectives are offered by Senhor Alvaro’s psychiatrist and another woman from the town, leading the reader to ask Is Senhor Alvaro sane? and Did these events really happen?           

PRIMARY WRITING TASK

Choose one of the following options:

1.) You are Senhor Alvaro.  Write a letter to the doctors and staff of the Estrada de Flores Mental Hospital to convince them to release you.  In your letter, explain why you are sane and prove that the events of the story really happened. 

**For an added challenge, you could write a letter from his perspective in which he intends to convince the doctors that he is sane, but inadvertently reinforces the idea that he is insane.  If you choose this option, please see me before you begin!

2.) You are Dr. S.L., Senhor Alvaro’s psychiatrist.  Write a report, to be included in Senhor Alvaro’s medical files, that explains why he insane and needs to be hospitalized.  Prove that the events of the story are a result of Senhor Alvaro’s senility.

The best pieces will:

• Use quotations and paraphrase from the original text to back up your claims with proper in-text citations i.e. (Hatoum 2)
• Be written from the perspective of either Senhor Alvaro or Dr. S.L.
• Be realistic and convincing
• Be 1 to 1½  pages, Times New Roman font, size 12, double spaced, 1 inch margins
• Have the proper heading: student’s name, teacher’s name, class, and date in the upper left corner
• Be submitted via email by the end of class on Friday

STUDENT’S NAME: ___________________________________________________________

CRITERIA                              SCORE                                                WEIGHT         TOTAL

PERSPECTIVE                      1          2          3          4          5                      x 3

• Written from either Senhor Alvaro or Dr S.L.’s perspective
• Writer stays in character throughout the piece
• The goal of the piece is consistent with the character

PERSUASION                       1          2          3          4          5                      x3

• The writer’s argument is convincing and well constructed
• The writer uses direct quotations and paraphrase for support
• Quotations and paraphrase have appropriate in-text citations

CONVENTIONS                   1          2          3          4          5                      x2

• Sentence structure and variety
• Spelling, punctuation, capitalization
• Word choice and usage

ATTN. TO DIRECTIONS    1          2          3          4          5                      x2

• 1-1½ pages in length
• Times New Roman, 12 pt. font
• Double spaced, 1 inch margins
• Correct header
• Submitted on time, via email

Annotated Bibliography

Durand, Chrystal. et al. "Using Interactive Read-Alouds And Reader Response To Shape Students' Concept Of Care." Illinois Reading Council Journal 36.1 (2008): 22-29. Education Research Complete . Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

In this study, Sutton et al. explore teaching elementary school children about care for themselves and others through literature.  They used Reader Response theory to help students understand and appreciate a variety of perspectives and experiences.  In the study, students responded to questions such as “What did you notice in the story?” “What did it remind you of?” and “How did the story make you feel?”  In comparing pre- and post-interview responses, Sutton et al. measured their success by the amount of student responses that focused on deeper meanings/themes instead of retelling the story.  At the end of the study, only seven percent of the students responded by retelling, and every student was able to explain what caring means, which shows that Reader Response was an effective teaching method.

Ghaith, Ghazi M., and Mirna S. Madhi. "Reader Response Versus New Criticism: Effects On Orientations To Literary Reading." TESL Reporter 41.2 (2008): 14-26. Education Research Complete . Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of Reader Response and New Critical approaches in teaching literature to Lebanese high school students who speak English as a foreign language.  All students participating in the study took a survey at the beginning and the end of the trial period.  During the trial period, the students in the experimental group studied texts taught the transactional model, while students in the control group continued to be taught using the transmission model.  The study found that students in the experimental group experienced a change in attitude toward reading for pleasure and reported an increased understanding of how the texts related to themselves and the world as a result of the transactional model.  The study concludes that using Reader Response techniques can help students to connect with and enjoy texts.

Poyas, Yael. "Exploring The Horizons Of The Literature Classroom – Reader Response, Reception Theories And Classroom Discourse." L1-Educational Studies In Language & Literature 4.1 (2004): 63-84. Education Research Complete . Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

In this case study, Poyas examines how “horizons of expectations” and “horizons of the text” affect the classroom dynamic in a middle school and a high school setting.  The study analyzes two Israeli teachers’ approach to canonical texts.  The second-year middle school teacher created a learning environment where students were enthusiastic and engaged and had the goal of leading students to an accepted interpretation of the poem through class discussion.  Her students willingly asked questions and challenged the text, but the teacher was unprepared for some of their responses, and ended up just telling the students the accepted interpretation instead of leading them to it.  The veteran high school teacher recognized the pressure of the upcoming exams and chose to present the accepted interpretation of the text in an engaging lecture that connected the text to themes in the students’ lives.  Poyas concludes that both teachers were ineffective in handling student responses and could learn from studying Jauss’s Theory of Reception.

Probst, Robert E. Response and Analysis: Teaching Literature in Junior and Senior High School . Portsmouth, NH: Boynton Cook, 1987.  Print.

This book proposes that adolescents are ideal readers because of the questions and uncertainties that they have about life and themselves and provides a variety of strategies for using Reader Response theory with middle school and high school students.  Probst says that teachers should make sure that their students do not feel like they need to have the background of a literary theorist in order to understand or enjoy a text and that the goal of instruction is to illicit a response to the text.  The book provides tips for dealing with student errors in reading, balancing the issue of authorial intent vs. student response, and getting students to participate in group discussion.  It also contains ideas for writing prompts, ways to have students respond to each other’s writing, ways to vary instructional activities, and how to evaluate student work.

Grossman, William Leonard. Modern Brazilian Short Stories . Google.com . Google Books.  Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

Hatoum, Milton. "The Truth Is A Seven-Headed Animal." Grand Street 16.4 (1998): 103-107. Short Story Index (H.W. Wilson) . Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

Jackson, David K. The Oxford Anthology of Brazilian Short Stories . Google.com. Google Books.  Web.  4 Oct. 2012.

Machado de Assis, Joaquim Maria. et al.  Brazilian Tales . Trans. Isaac Goldberg. Gutenburg.org. Project Gutenberg. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

Parker, Robert Dale.  How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.

Tyson, Lois. Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write about Literature . London, Routledge, 2011. Print.

U., Mel. The Reading Life . n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

Word Awareness. Contemporary Brazilian Short Stories (CBSS) . n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

Workman, Nancy. “Reader Response Theory.” Literary Theory & Criticism. Lewis University, Romeoville, IL. 5 Sept. 2012, 7 Sept. 2012, 12 Sept. 2012. Lecture.

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Reader-response theory: Practice of types of readings and responses

Reader Response Theory, a reaction to New Criticism, gained prominence in the late 1960s and focuses on the reader's reaction to a particular text. Reader Response theorists have mainly contributed towards emphasizing the reader in the making of literary meaning. It is connected to poststructuralism's emphasis that viewed the role of the reader in actively constructing texts rather than passively consuming them. Louise Rosenblatt (1904-2005), an American university professor, was the first to theorize Transactional Reader Response theory in the 1940s through her work The Reader, The Text, The Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work (1978). The student intends to explore the emphasis of the theory on the transaction between the reader and the text and discusses the types of reading and responses. It will also make references to the daily classroom experiences in schools, and models and approaches implemented by the Ministry of Education of Bhutan to understand the practice of reader-response theory.

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Across the globe, every aspect of teaching in general and teaching literature in particular is gaining currency. At the same time, the need to know more about the reading process have also led literary critics to advance theories that attempt explicating meaning of texts and the role of the reader. In the past several decades, literary studies have seen dramatic changes not only in the classroom setting but also in instructional pedagogy especially as our society becomes more culturally diverse and technologically infected. In the wake of these developments, it is becoming controversial whether there is a single reading to a literary text that can be constructed to be the obvious meaning to the text. Many literary critics have also asked the question, “Does meaning reside in the author, the text, or the reader” (Richter, 2000, p.12) and what is the nature of literary experience (Langer, 1995, p. 24). As literary critics continue their litanies of pedagogical problems and critiques associated with the author, the text, and the reader (inherent in New Criticism and the flaws in New Critical practices) nowhere is the impact felt more than on the reader just because when two elephants are fighting, it is the grass that suffers.

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Reader Response in Hypertext: Making Personal Connections to Literature

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

In this lesson plan, students choose four quotations to inspire personal responses to a novel that they have read. Students write a narrative of place, a character sketch, an extended metaphor poem, and a persuasive essay then link all four texts to the quotations they selected. If desired, students incorporate photos into their presentation then publish the collected texts on their website. This lesson is used with novels that contain a strong sense of place, that focus on closeness of characters, and that are metaphorical in character, such as A River Runs Through It , Montana 1948 , and The Bean Trees.

Featured Resources

Writing Rubric : Teachers can use this rubric to evaluate the content, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency, and conventions of their students' writing. Interactive Venn Diagram : Students use this online tool to compare and contrast the details of two books, to organize ideas for a compare and contrast essay, and a variety of other compare and contrast activities. Persuasion Map : Students use this online tool to map out and print persuasive arguments. Included are spaces to map out the thesis, three reasons, and supporting details.

From Theory to Practice

This lesson asks students "to develop and explore their personal responses to literature," which Allen Carey-Webb identifies is the basic teaching strategy that "put[s] the ‘reader response' theory into practice" (6-7). As Carey-Webb explains in more detail, "Rather than lecture, recitation, or the discovery of some predetermined meaning, reader response teachers favor small- and large-group discussions, literature circles, creative writing, and dramatic and artistic activities that help students engage actively with what they read and express their individual responses and understandings" (7). This lesson adopts the reader-response techniques of asking students to engage with the texts that they read and respond individually in multiple genres. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

Texts with a Sense of Place booklist

• Quotation Journal Recording Sheet
• Daily Response Journal instructions
• Hypertext Response Project
• Hypertext Response Planning Sheet
• Essay of Place assignment
• Character Sketch assignment
• How to Write a Character Sketch
• Grandma Atkinson character sketch example
• Sample Character Traits
• Persuasive Essay assignment
• Guiding Questions for Peer Feedback
• Writing Rubric
• Self-Reflection

Preparation

• Choose book(s) from the booklist or similar novels, and decide whether to complete the project as a whole class activity or based on books that students read in literature circle novel or independently.
• Familiarize yourself with the Web editing software available for students to use to publish their final drafts.
• Decide how you will structure the lesson. The instructional plan included here asks students to read the book and gather quotations using Quotation Journal Recording Sheet before they begin the project. If you'd prefer to have students work on the project while they are reading, you might use the Daily Response Journal instructions rather than the recording sheet .
• If desired, make copies of handouts for project and writing assignments or arrange for overhead. Most of the assignments can also be given verbally.
• Choose a poem to use as a model for the extended metaphor poem. Possible titles include Emily Dickinson’s “ There is No Frigate like a Book ,” Jane Yolen’s “ Fat Is Not a Fairy Tale ,” or Eve Merriam’s “ Willow and Ginkgo ."
• Test the Persuasion Map on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• demonstrate their understanding of setting, character, metaphor, and theme by writing responses based on each literary element.
• show their personal connections to a piece of literature by keeping quotation journals.
• write short papers in various genres (description, character sketch, extended metaphor poem, persuasive essays) showing personal connections to the novel.
• publish their project to a personal or school Website or to a disk or CD.

Reading the Novel

• Before students begin reading the book(s) you’ve chosen, pass out and explain the Quotation Journal Recording Sheet .
• As a group, choose a few quotations from the novel and complete sample entries on the recording sheet to model the technique for students.
• Emphasize that student responses to the text are the goal of this part of the process. Students are choosing quotations that are meaningful to them. It’s likely that students will choose different passages as they read the texts.
• After students understand the process of recording quotations, read and discuss the novel(s) chosen, as whole class or in small groups.
• Have students use their Quotation Journal Recording Sheets to stimulate group discussion.

Session One: Project Overview

• Ask students to review their Quotation Journal Recording Sheets , looking for quotations they found particularly meaningful as they were reading.
• Working in small groups or as a whole class, invite students to share the quotations that they identify and to explain why they have chosen them. This process can serve as a review of the elements of the novel in order to prepare students for the writing project they will complete in subsequent sessions.
• As students discuss, ask them to pay particular attention to how the quotations relate to the literary features of setting, plot, and metaphor.
• After students have had a chance to review their entries, pass out the Hypertext Response Project .

Create a Web page with four quotations from the book and four photographs that illustrate the quotations. These quotations each communicate a different piece of information about the novel: a quotation that shows the importance of place (the setting) in the novel a quotation that shows the relationship between two characters (e.g., for A River Runs Through It , the two brothers) a quotation that helps establish the metaphor explored in the book (e.g., for A River Runs Through It , the river or fly-fishing is a metaphor for life) the quote of the novel, the one passage or quotation that captures the essence, the true meaning, of the novel for you Next, write four hyperlinked pieces—an essay of place, a character sketch, an extended metaphor poem, and a persuasive essay explaining the quotation you've chosen as the quotation of the book.

• In the process of explaining the project, make connections to the Planning Sheet , which uses a table to help students organize their ideas and the details for their projects. Explain that all the items under the "Main Page with Illustrations" column belong on the first page. The "Four Subpages" column is for the topics and the filenames for the four pages that link to the quotations on the main page.
• Explain any filenaming guidelines (see example ) that you want students to follow and connect these guidelines to the rows where students record their filenames on the Planning Sheet .
• As a class, identify an example of each type of quotation, using a text that they are all familiar with to provide a model for students’ work.
• Remind students that these quotations are individual and there are many options, so their choices will likely be different when they work on their hypertext project. There is no single correct quotation to choose.
• Share the Writing Rubric that will be used to evaluate the final projects and answer any questions students have about the requirements.
• In the time remaining or for homework, ask students to choose four quotations for their project and to use the Planning Sheet to begin thinking about their project.

Session Two: Essay of Place

Write a descriptive essay about a place that has had some special meaning in your life—a place that is still a part of you. Provide specific physical details about the place, and explain how this place helped form you into the person you are today. As you get started, take a few minutes to think about how you want to order your essay: What will you summarize? What will you dramatize? Will you use chronological order or flashback? Publish your essay of place on a new Web page. Link the page to the quotation of place that you've chosen from your novel.

• Provide an example from a book or short story that all the students are familiar with to work through the process of choosing a focus and gathering details for the piece. For example, in the novel A River Runs Through It , the characters Norman and Paul have a strong sense of place. They are part of Montana and the river, and the river and Montana are part of them.
• Review information on description using your textbook, LEO: Descriptive Essay from The Write Place, or Descriptive Essays from the Purdue OWL.
• Think of a place that you want to describe—why is this place important to you? why do you want to tell someone else about it?
• Now that you have a particular place in mind, focus on your senses. First, what do you see when you look at the place?
• Next, talk about what you hear in the place. Try to describe the sounds (e.g., gurgling water or the buzz-z-z-z-z of the motor).
• What do you smell and taste in this place?
• How do you feel when you are in this place? What emotions does this place bring to mind?
• Would someone else feel the same way? What would someone else notice? Would someone else see, hear, and smell the same things that you do?
• What do you want someone who reads your essay to know about this place? What is the most important thing that they learn about it?
• After gathering their ideas by responding to these prompts, students can begin drafting their essay and creating Web pages, following the instructions in the Essay of Place assignment to publish their work. Remind students to return to their Planning Sheets to check the relationships among their files and the filenames.

Session Three: Character Sketch

Write a character sketch of someone who has had some special meaning in your life. Provide specific details about the person and your relationship, and explain how this person helped form you into who you are today. Publish your character sketch on a new Web page. Link the page to the quotation that you've chosen from your novel, which shows the relationship between two characters.

• If desired, review the adjective part of speech, using the Capital Community College “Guide to Grammar and Writing” Website or your grammar textbook as a reference.
• Brainstorm a list of character traits or provide a short list on the board, to provide a sample for students.
• Working from the information on adjectives and the sample character traits, compose a class definition of the literary term.
• Using a character from a work that students have read, demonstrate the process of compiling a list of character traits, using online resources such as an Internet dictionary or thesaurus or the thesaurus in Microsoft Word. Share the list of character traits with students, if desired.
• Introduce the character sketches by asking students to think of a person who is important to them in their lives. Provide an example that students are familiar with, from a reading, movie, or television show. For instance, in A River Runs Through It , the relationship between Norman and Paul is full of conflicts but still extremely close. Even though he is the younger brother, Paul has a profound influence on Norman's life. If Norman were writing in response to this assignment, he might write a character sketch of Paul.
• Think about the person you want to write about—why is this person important to you? why do you want to tell someone else about him or her?
• Now that you have a particular person in mind, focus on giving your readers a strong image of the person. First, what do you see when you look at the person? How does the person dress? Describe the person’s gestures or facial expressions.
• Next, talk about how the person talks. What topics does the person talk about? What kind of words does the person use? What makes you recognize this person’s voice?
• What values are important to this person? What does the person care most about, and how can you tell?
• Think of a specific time you were with this person. Briefly tell the story of your time together—just get your ideas down. You can expand on them later.
• What kind of emotional reaction do you want your reader to have to this person? How do you want your reader to feel after reading about him or her?
• After gathering their ideas by responding to these prompts, students can begin drafting their essays and creating Web pages. Remind students to return to their Planning Sheets to check the relationships among their files and the filenames.
• Distribute the How to Write a Character Sketch handout to give students additional support as they write.
• If desired, explore the sample character sketch with students, pointing out the characteristics that make the example successful.

Session Four: Extended Metaphor Poem

• Read the poem you’ve chosen aloud to students, asking them to listen to the words only during this first reading.
• Pass out copies of the poem or display the poem using an overhead projector.
• Read the poem aloud again, asking students to follow along.
• Ask students what they notice about the poem, and list their responses on the board or chart paper.
• If students have not yet identified the elements in the poem, ask a student to define the literary terms metaphor and simile . Alternately, you can point to a definition in your textbook, or use the following definitions: A metaphor compares two things by stating that one thing is the other. For example, in the novel A River Runs Through It , the river or fly-fishing is a metaphor for life. A simile compares two things using like or as .
• Read the poem through another time, asking students to listen for these literary elements.
• Ask students to identify how the poem uses an extended comparison to make its point.
• Using the poem that you’ve chosen as a model and their observations, ask students to create a list of the characteristics of an extended metaphor poem (e.g., the first line typically states the comparison, the poem focuses on one comparison).

Write an extended metaphor poem based on a comparison similar to that explored in the book that you've read. Your poem can include both metaphors and similes. Publish your poem on a new Web page, and link that page to the quotation that you've chosen from your novel to represent the metaphor that is explored in the story.

• Ask students to create a T-chart , with one column labeled for the metaphor and the other for what it stands for. For instance, for the novel A River Runs Through It , the river is the metaphor (column one) and it stands for life (column two).
• To demonstrate the idea-gathering process, ask students to brainstorm descriptive words and phrases under each column.
• As a class, shape the words students have gathered into a poem, pointing to the list of characteristics the class has gathered.
• To begin work on their own poems, ask students to identify the metaphor explored in the novel they are focusing on for this project.
• Have students brainstorm a list of alternative metaphors that could stand for the main issue (e.g., metaphors for life might be a football game, a great party, or a garden).
• Ask students to choose one item on their list and gather ideas for that metaphor.
• Have students create two columns, as they did for the example, and brainstorm details and images.
• If desired, students can use the two-circle Interactive Venn Diagram to organize their comparisons.
• After gathering their ideas in these two columns, students can begin drafting their extended metaphor poems and creating the related Web pages and linking to the quotation from the novel that establishes its overarching metaphor. Remind students to return to their Planning Sheets to check the relationships among their files and the filenames.

Session Five: Persuasive Essay

Focus your essay on the reasons that the quotation you’ve chosen is “The Quotation of the Book.” Persuade your readers that the quotation captures the story’s essence, or true meaning. Explain the reasons why this one passage should be saved if the book were ever lost or destroyed. Publish your persuasive essay on a new Web page. Link the page to the quotation that you've chosen from your novel.

• Have students brainstorm a list of reasons that they chose the quotation. Encourage them to take this opportunity to record initial ideas, which will serve as a springboard to further discussion.
• Once students have had time to gather their ideas, divide students into small groups.
• How does the quotation impress, intrigue, or puzzle you?
• What about the author’s use of language is appealing or powerful?
• What makes the language grab your attention? Is it beautiful, descriptive, or graphic?
• Why is the passage particularly meaningful?
• How does the passage relate to the book’s message, meaning, or theme?
• As they share ideas, have students take notes on their conversations to use later as they write their essays.
• Demonstrate the Persuasion Map , explaining how to use the tool to organize notes for the completed essay.
• Allow students the remainder of the class to complete the Persuasion Map for their quotations and work on their essays. Remind students to return to their Planning Sheets to check the relationships among their files and the filenames.

Additional Work Sessions

Allow students additional sessions to work on their projects. Students should be given enough time to complete their writing, publish their pages, and check their links. Once their drafts are complete, students should share their pages with at least one other student, who will check students’ links and share reactions and suggestions.

Session Six: Sharing and Peer Feedback

• Give students five minutes to make last-minute preparations and to check their sites.
• Have students share the addresses for their files with the class or in their groups.
• Of the four pieces included (essay of place, character sketch, extended metaphor poem, and persuasive essay), which did you like the most and why?
• Which of the four pieces had the strongest connection to the quotation? What made the connection so strong?
• Which of the four pieces did you like the most and why?
• What suggestions do you have for the author?
• After students have responded to the texts of all group members, ask students to read the feedback and use the information to make any final changes to their texts before submitting them for final evaluation at the beginning of the next session (or later if you want to allow students additional time to work on revisions).
• Remind students of the requirements included on the Writing Rubric , which will be used to evaluate the final projects, and answer any questions students have.
• One that shows the importance of place in the novel
• One that shows the relationship between the two brothers
• One that helps establish the metaphor explored in the novel
• One that focuses on the quote of the novel
• Group Publications In a classroom with limited computers, have students work in groups to complete the project, with one group homepage linked to related photos and quotations. Student could link their individual essays to this home page.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Part of this lesson can be evaluated by the students. Using the Self-Reflection assessment handout, ask students to compile a reflective narrative tracing the steps they took in the process, what they had problems with, how they worked out their problems, and how they feel about their final project.
• Teachers may evaluate both the process and the final project by keeping anecdotal records of students' participation in the process. They may also wish to use the Writing Rubric for the written artifact.
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

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