Quote: "Readers bring their background knowledge to every reading experience; in fact, they read a text differently depending on their prior experiences...'the meaning you get from a piece is intertwined with the meaning you bring to it'." (Tompkins, 261)
Comment: I really liked the idea that "the meaning you get from a piece is intertwined with the meaning you bring to it". This makes a lot of sense in the context that students will apply their background to new information they are gaining through their reading. Each student's background knowledge will vary, especially between students of varying cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. This quote can help me as a teacher to remember to be aware of differing backgrounds of my students and make sure to select a variety of reading materials for my classroom that will appeal to students with different experiences and interests. I also realized that I should be careful in telling students what "right" and "wrong" interpretations of the materials we are reading in class are--I should first determine where the student is coming from and then determine if their conclusions and ideas are logical based on their previous knowledge.
Question: If there is a text that is required by the curriculum for our students to read, how can we as teachers make sure that our students have the proper background knowledge to read and interpret the text?
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