Brigham Young University UCTE 2018 Helping Students Inquire into the Meaning of Literature by Telling Small Stories Larkin Weyand Brigham Young University GN

Interpret Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses, And all the king's men, Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Under-represented narrative activities: Small Stories Under-represented narrative activities: tellings of ongoing events future or hypothetical events shared (known) events allusions to (previous) tellings (De Fina & Georgakopoulou, 2012, p. 116). Told in the course of everyday talk (Juzwik & Ives, 2010, p. 41).

Rosenblatt’s Transactional Theory She argued for what she called the transaction between reader and text: “the to-and-fro, spiraling, nonlinear, continuously reciprocal influence of reader and text in the making of meaning” (p. xvi). The “meaning is not ‘in’ the text or ‘in’ the reader. Both reader and text are essential to the transactional process of making meaning” (p. 27) --from Literature as Exploration

Validate the Difficulties Why do students find interpreting literature difficult? Blame Kills Inquiry: Blame Self: “I’m just not good at English.” Blame the writer: “Why did he have to write it like that with all those big words?” Validate the Difficulties Difficult vocabulary Difficult stance Difficult images Examples from you?

From Newkirk & Heaney (1984) Why do students find interpreting literature difficult? From Newkirk & Heaney (1984) Do we give students the wrong impression of “inspired readings” (p. 756)? Do we hide the struggles of a first reading from our students? Do we help students deal “with reactions that are not easily resolved into a thesis” (p. 757)? Do we meet our students with “a prepared reading” (p. 758)? Do we model that thinking is a process (p. 758)?

Small stories as problem-solving Newkirk & Heaney: “interruption of activity” Marchetti: “Write. Pause. Write. Pause. Struggle. Write some more.”

Small stories of your readings Reading #1: Identify vocabulary difficulties. Reading #2: Work through the problem by making hypotheses. Reading #3: Consolidate analyses and make them go together.

“Burning a Book” by William Stafford

“Burning a Book” by William Stafford

“Burning a Book” by William Stafford

Your Turn “Too” or “Double”? Reading #1: Identify vocabulary difficulties. Reading #2: Work through the problem by making hypotheses. Reading #3: Consolidate analyses and make them go together.

How did it go? Reading #1: Identify vocabulary difficulties. Work through the problem by making hypotheses. Reading #3: Consolidate analyses and make them go together.