Quote: "Reading is a constructive process of creating meaning that involves the reader, the text, and the purpose within social and cultural contexts. The goal is comprehension,understanding the text and being able to use it for the intended purpose." (42)
Comment: This section was quite interesting to read. It is interesting to reflect on how my teachers in the past have utilized these same strategies to help me become a better, more fluent and comprehending reader. One part that I found particularly interesting was the portion on activating background knowledge. It will be interesting as a teacher, having students that have far different scopes of background knowledge to find a way to somehow ensure that they all have enough knowledge and experience to understand and relate to the text. Without sufficient background knowledge the text will not be comprehensible or meaningful for the student. That is why it will be vital for us, as teachers, to ensure that all of our students can find some way to relate what we are reading to their lives outside of the classroom. If a text does not hold any significance to the student, the motivation will likewise be nonexistent.
Question: How can we ensure that we are tapping into every single students' background knowledge?
We can do this by really knowing our students and their lives, through talking with them about their weekends, really listening to them, learning about them from parent teacher conferences, paying attention to the books they are reading, what they are writing about and taking the time to know each child. If we know about our students then we can find ways to relate things to their lives and give them a greater opportunity to tie their knowledge to what we are learning in class.
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