Reading in the Dialogic Classroom

• In Event: 46.082 - Teacher Research: Transformative Classroom Practices

Abstract

This teacher research study focused on the experience of one high-need, low scoring middle school student in an urban, heterogeneous English Language Arts class. Analyzing classroom discourse, reading journals and interviews, I traced the development of “Ana” as she listened to avid readers in our class describe their deep responses to reading and their development of content area reading strategies. Ana began to participate in class discussions and readings. She learned what it meant to read for pleasure and developed successful strategies for textual comprehension. She moved from the lowest-scoring reader in the class to one of the top readers in the state. More importantly, she learned to engage deeply in the pleasures of reading.

Author

• Mary Beth Schaefer, Saint John's University