ImprovingliteraryunderstandingT H R O U G H C L A S S R O O M C O N V E R S A T I O N

Elizabeth Close

Judith A. Langer

P A G E 2http://cela.albany.edu

Research reportsand newsletter

articles about thisand other Center

work are availableat this site.

P A G E 3

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Why literature .................................... 4

Introduction ....................................... 5

Building envisionments ...................... 6

Enriching literary understanding .......... 7

Supporting envisionment building...... 11

Including struggling readers

in an envisionment-building

classroom .................................. 13

Instructional scaffolding

for thinking and discussing .......... 14

USING THESE FINDINGS

Supporting discussions that develop

and extend student thinking......... 16

More about strategies to improve

literary understanding ................. 20

P A G E 4

hy is it important to

teach literary under-

standing? It is

through reading,

thinking, and

discussing literature

that students find

alternative ways to

gain knowledge and

solve problems.

Through sharing of

understandings,

they learn not only

important content,

but also cognitive,

critical, and social

strategies needed

for success in

academic courses,

work, and life.

Living through a

literary experience

involves exploring

meanings, interpre-

tations and

perspectives while

maintaining an

openness to future

possibilities.

From 1987 to 1995, Judith Langer and a team of field research-

ers took a close look at what happens in classrooms that help

students engage in deep understandings of literature. They

worked with teachers of grades 1-12 and the first year of col-

lege to learn more about how readers think when they read

and discuss literature and how teachers can help students use

discussion to think more deeply. Students were also partners

in the research, with selected students meeting with re-

searchers to share their understandings of both the literature

and their classroom discussions.

As a result of the study, Langer was able to describe the

processes involved in literary understanding as well as the

instructional environments, activities, and interactions that

support it. The results of this research are shared in a set of

research reports by Langer, the field researchers, and the teach-

ers (see page 22 for a partial list), as well as in Langer’s book,

Envisioning Literature. In addition, Maryland Public Televi-

sion, with a grant from Annenberg/CPB, has prepared a se-

ries of professional development programs based on this work.

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P A G E 5

Judith A. Langer

is director of

the National

Research Center

on English

Learning &

Achievement.

Elizabeth Close

participated in the

original study as

a seventh-grade

classroom teacher

and is now director

of educational

outreach for

the Center.

Elizabeth Close

Judith A. Langer

ImprovingliteraryunderstandingthroughclassroomconversationI N T R O D U C T I O N

The authors’ collaboration began in 1988 whenBetty was a seventh-grade English teacherand Judith, a university researcher investigat-ing the teaching and learning of literature.During the next seven years the collaborationinvolved dozens of teachers across all gradelevels as well as a group of field researchersfrom the university.

We all worked together both in the class-room and out, with some of the teachers at-tending weekly seminars at the university toreflect on what we were learning, share ideas,consider research relevant to our concerns, andparticipate in literary discussions. And manyof us wrote about our experience and what wewere learning in articles that appeared in theprofessional literature.

We have prepared this booklet for teachersand administrators, drawing on the findingsof the original study and the many publicationsit produced.

We begin with several short sections thatprovide background about the conclusions ofthe study and mention some potential class-room strategies. The second half of the bookletis devoted to actual classroom examples ac-companied by explanations of how they illus-trate the findings and the strategies.

P A G E 6

B U I L D I N G E N V I S I O N M E N T S

There is no best map for coming to understand any literary piece, whetherfiction or nonfiction. However, people orient their minds differently when theyread for literary understanding as compared to when they read for information.They build envisionments in both orientations, but the strategies they use tobuild them and the kinds of understandings they develop are different. Theyread for and expect different kinds of information, and thus, engage in some-what different reading experiences.

Reading for literaryunderstanding: Openinghorizons of possibilities When readers seek to make sense of aliterary work, they engage in an ex-ploration; they are open to many pos-sibilities for meaning. At any givenpoint a reader is developing ideas, orenvisionments, of events, characters,and meaning while anticipating whatmight be ahead. Readers recognize thatsome future experience — a develop-ment in the work, an interaction withfriends or fellow students — mightchange their thinking. Thus their read-ing is guided by inquisitiveness.

Literary envisionments — thoughtsabout what is being read or discussedfor the moment and thoughts about thewhole (e.g., theme, meaning, eventu-alities) — constantly inform each otherbecause a reader’s sense of what thepiece is “about” is always open tochange. We call this exploring the hori-zons of possibilities. For example, asreaders explore relationships betweencharacters, they understand not onlythe characters and their actions, butthey also develop ideas about how thepiece might end. As their understand-ings of the characters change, so, too,do possibilities for the ending, andvice versa. When readers share theirthinking with others, they considermore possibilities for meaning.

Reading for information:Maintaining a point ofreferenceWhen readers are primarily concernedwith gaining information, they work todevelop a sense of the topic by main-taining a point of reference. Theirenvisionments are shaped by theirquestions and explorations that bringthem closer to the information theyseek and that help them to better un-derstand the topic. As people read, theyuse the content to narrow the possibili-ties of meaning and sharpen theirunderstandings of the information.Using information gained along theway (combined with what they alreadyknow) to refine their understanding,they seek to get the author’s point orunderstand more and more about thetopic. Here, unlike literary thinking,their questioning is guided by theirsense of the whole (e.g., the topic or thepoint of the argument and the ideas,issues, and arguments related to it).Although readers may revise their cur-rent understandings, rarely do theychange their sense of the whole or whatthe entire piece is about. New questionsand ideas about the topic may develop,but the point of reference remains thefocus around which they build theirenvisionments.

nvisionments

are understandings

— the wealth of

ideas that people

have in their minds

at any point in time.

Envisionments

include related

ideas and images,

questions, hunches,

anticipations,

arguments,

disagreements,

and confusions that

fill the mind during

every reading,

writing, speaking, or

thinking experience.

E

Readers can move in and out of literary and information orientations depending upon their pur-poses for reading. Both are essential for effective reading, thinking, and problem solving. Thisbooklet will focus on exploring the horizons of possibilities for literary understanding.

P A G E 7

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Enriching literary understanding O ur research identified fourstances employedby readers. Thesestances occur,reoccur, and co-occur as readersattempt to buildand round outmeaning.

Moving throughthe stancesenriches literaryexperience. Thestances are notvery different fromthe ways peopleapproach any newsituation:

Being out andstepping into anenvisionment

Being in andmoving throughan envisionment

Stepping backand rethinkingwhat one knows

Stepping backand objectifyingthe experience

Being out and stepping into an envisionment

Imagine a student arriving at a new school.Perhaps she has come from a rural settingto an urban one. At first, she will be con-cerned with getting to know her new envi-ronment, the people in it, and the way theculture functions. She will have many ques-tions and often be confused by her newexperiences. Interested in learning all abouther new school and based on what sheknows about school from her past experi-ences, she will “step into” this new settingand begin to build an understanding — orenvisionment — of it. At first she will pulltogether any “clues” about the school shecan find — who the students are and howthey are like or different from herself; whoher teachers are and their expectations;where her classes are located and howeach is organized. She will begin to buildher envisionment of this new environ-

ment, rethinking or adding to her under-standing of the school as she encounterssomething new.

In a similar way, readers making ini-tial contact with a text may focus on thegenre, content, structure and language ofthe piece and use their prior knowledge andexperiences to begin to construct anenvisionment. As they step into thisenvisionment, they pick up “clues” to be-come acquainted with the characters, de-velop a sense of the setting and story line,or determine what the text will be about.They may return to this stance again when-ever they encounter new, confusing or con-flicting ideas. For example, when readerscome across unfamiliar terms, they maystop, reread, and rethink what they knowbefore continuing.

Being in and moving through an envisionmentAs the student tests her initial understand-ings of her new school and becomes im-mersed in its culture, her new experiencesas well as her past understandings aboutschool life help her to know the studentsand teachers, how they behave, and whatthey expect from her. She develops friend-ships and is comfortable finding her wayaround the building. She continues to addto her understanding of how this newschool world works as she becomes in-

volved in her classes and school activities.In much the same way, readers move

in and through their envisionments. Theybecome immersed in their understandingsof the story, become familiar with the set-ting, develop expectations for the charac-ters, and anticipate events. They use theirpersonal experience and knowledge as wellas the text to advance their understandings,and they continue to elaborate on and con-nect ideas as they build envisionments.

Stepping back and rethinking what one knows

As the student comes to know her newworld, she may step back to think abouthow what she is learning connects to whatshe knows from previous experience. Forexample, she may observe that some stu-dents have developed strong friendshipsthat exclude many of their classmates, mak-

ing her think about how this limits theirfriendships and her ability to get to knowthem better. She may also then think abouthow she might have treated a student at herold school in a more open and understand-ing manner.

As readers develop their envision-

P A G E 8

eachers who ask questions based on the four stances helpstudents to think from a variety of perspectives. They also pro-vide students with models to use in posing their own questions.

Questionsto help

studentsmove to

differentstances

T

For example:

• What do you think this story will beabout? (before reading)

• What questions do you have?

• What do you wonder about?

• What would you like to discuss?

• What were you thinking as you werereading?

• How did your understanding ofthe characters (or plot or action)change during/afterthe reading or discussion?

• What did this remind you ofin your own life? How did it differ?Why do you think it did?

• What do you have to say aboutthe writer’s style?

• What would you ask the writerif you had a chance?

• How might others (e.g., colonialsettlers, women) interpretthe piece?

• What other pieces/books doesthis remind you of? Why?

• Does anyone see this piece froma different perspective? Whatperspective and why?

P A G E 9

ments, they can also step back from the textworld to consider what they understandfrom the reading and how that influenceswhat they already know. After reading Rollof Thunder, Hear My Cry, the story of ayoung African-American girl living inMississippi in the 1930s, students mightthink about how serious the consequencesof segregation are and how little they re-ally understand its effects. They may thinkof their own neighborhoods, their own past

ll of thesestances areavailable toreaders as theirenvisionmentsgrow. Understand-ing comes throughthe stances taken— becomingacquainted withthe text, usingmeaning to buildmeaning, gaininginsights, andtaking a criticalview.

A

Questions students and teachers prepare for classroom literary discus-sions can play an important role in providing scaffolding to support stu-dents as they learn to apply the stances in their reading and discussions.

A W O R D A B O U T S C A F F O L D I N G

For more aboutscaffolding and otherinstructional strategies,see pages 15.

Paired reading or think-aloud Students read together,stopping to discuss concerns, questions, and ideas as they occur.

Note taking to capture ideas while readingStudents use sticky notes to record their ideas, or they record ideason a copy of the text.

Quick-write Students write ideas, feelings, and questionsimmediately after completing a reading.

Question sharing and selection Students bring questionsand concerns to small groups where they select the ones that need tobe brought to the whole class for discussion.

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inactivity in developing better relations,and ways to become more involved in so-cial and political issues. Their literaryenvisionments thus enrich their under-standings of the real world.

Stepping back and rethinking does notoccur as frequently as the other stances, butit can have powerful impact. It is one ofthe reasons we read literature — to helpus think about and sort out our own livesand places in the world.

Stepping back and objectifying the experience

As she builds her envisionment of theschool environment, the student oftensteps back to consider her experience froma distance. Initially she may have been an-gry or frightened by the idea of attending anew school, but now and then she is ableto take a more analytical look. She maythink about the additional opportunitiesthis experience has provided (e.g., moresports options, more electives) and may be

able to make judgments about the relativestrengths and weaknesses of the two schoolexperiences.

So too, readers can become objectiveabout their reading experiences and usethese to reflect on the text and the readingexperience itself. They distance themselvesfrom their envisionments as they makejudgments, focus on the structure of thetext, or comment on meaning.

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S O M E S T R A T E G I E S T H A TS U P P O R T E N V I S I O N M E N T B U I L D I N G

Smallgroupdiscussions

• Have students focus on their concerns as well as their understand-ings about the literary selection (e.g., bring questions or ideas fordiscussion to group meetings).

• Have students work together to share envisionments and preparefor whole class discussions (e.g., discuss issues of concern for thesmall group).

• Provide support (scaffolding) for students to employ the four stances(teacher-designed guides to focus their small group discussions).

• Gradually remove scaffolding as students learn to assume responsi-bility for moving the discussion forward (e.g., students learn to agree,disagree, build on each others’ ideas).

• Have students bring questions and concerns from these meetingsto large group discussions.

• Move from group to group, providing assistance and nudging thestudents to think more deeply or broadly when appropriate. Help themexplore the horizons of possibilities and enter the stances by askingquestions for them to discuss.

• Make understanding the literary work(s) the heart of the discussion.

• Come to class prepared with possible questions but make students’questions, concerns, and growing ideas the focus of discussion.

• Expect students to come to class prepared to discuss their ideas,questions, and concerns.

• Provide scaffolding in ways to discuss and think (see p. 15).

• Require students to support their responses using the text,experience, research, etc.

• Ask students to write before sharing their thinking aloud to helpdevelop and focus their envisionments (e.g., quick-writes).

• Ask students to write during the experience to explore, rethink, andexpand their envisionments (e.g., journals, written conversations).

• Ask students to write after a discussion to reflect on ideas andto reconsider possibilities for changed or new understandings (e.g.,response journals, pieces written from a character’s point of view).

• Encourage students to use talk as a way to try out ideas and sharpenthoughts for writing.

Full classdiscussions

Writingactivities

P A G E 1 1

Supportingenvisionmentbuilding

n envisionment-building class-

rooms where students have

mutual support systems from

teachers and other students,

they are given the room to form

their own understandings and to

use interaction with others to

explore horizons of possibilities.

Our research revealed principles

of practice that are at work in

learning communities where

envisionment building is

at the core.

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In envisionment-buildingclassrooms, students andteachers. . .

See themselves as lifelong envisionmentbuildersTeachers treat students as thinkers who have interestingand coherent ideas about a piece of literature. Students andteachers participate in a community that invites them tofurther develop their envisionments by sharing their un-derstandings and building on the understandings of oth-ers. Students take ownership of their ideas and responsi-bility for developing and refining their envisionments.

See questions as essential components ofliterary experienceStudents and teachers know that raising questions is animportant part of coming to understand. They see havingquestions as a sign of being good readers and as a means tofurther understand and explore horizons of possibilities.

Use class meetings as time to developunderstandingsStudents and teachers know that their ideas about a par-ticular piece may change as they engage in a discussion.Class time is an opportunity to share thinking, re-work understandings, raise questions, and use the stancesto explore the horizons of possibilities.

Use multiple perspectives to enrichunderstandingsBecause teachers help students realize that there is no oneor “best” interpretation of a literary work, they are open tolistening to others’ perspectives and come to appreciate whyand how others may have different envisionments fromtheir own. They are able to view the piece from varyingcritical and cultural perspectives and from the various per-spectives of the characters within the piece.

P A G E 1 2

• Design activities to support students’ideas and questions.

• Paired readings where studentsread together, stopping toshare thoughts and questions.

• Note taking while reading tocapture ideas (e.g., writing oncopies of the text, or usingsticky notes).

• Journal writing to recordthoughts and possible insights.

• Quick-writes at crucial points inthe narrative or at the end tohelp students focus.

• Provide alternative ways to accessmaterial (e.g., books on tape).

• Ask questions that help students makeconnections with the full text, with theirown experiences and other readings.• Can you tell about another book

where the character was likethis one?

• Describe a similar experienceyou’ve had. What feelings did youshare with this main character?What feelings were different? Why?

• Encourage students to listen to andrespond to the ideas of others.• Does anyone agree or disagree with

Damien’s idea? Why?• What other ideas do you have

about why the character behavedthis way?

• Provide opportunities for students toengage in related activities in multipleformats that make the thinking of theirpeers visible and develop their under-standings of the work (e.g. role play,think-aloud, dramatic presentations,fish bowls, art representations).

• Provide individual copies of guidingquestions (e.g. bookmarks,sticky note reminders).

Involve allstudents inall aspects ofclass discussion.

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Somestrategiesthat supportstrugglingreaders

Help students focus on ideas byproviding guiding questions thatwill deepen the discussion (avoidquestions with yes, no, or one-wordanswers).

• What might you do in a similar situation?Why do you think the character did it his way?

• What is the character feeling? How mightthis affect his actions?

• How does the setting help you understandthe character’s feelings?

• If you were telling this story, how mightyou end it? Why?

• How might this story be different if ithappened in another time period?

Provide direct instructional scaffolding with guidedactivities that help students develop envisionments.

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Often students who struggle with reading findthemselves distanced from classroom activi-ties. What kind of support do these readersneed? Throughout the study, researchers ob-served that all readers engaged in the en-visionment-building process, but there weredifferences in the quality of envisionments.Struggling readers are less aware of their pur-poses for reading (literary or discursive). Theirenvisionments are often thinly developed andeasily shatter when they are puzzled or whenthey lack or don’t use background informa-tion or prior experience. Struggling readers aremore likely to lose their envisionments and tohave more difficulty returning to them. Be-cause they lack an understanding of the kindsof knowledge they are after, they rarely lookfor connections to what they have read andunderstood earlier, and they have difficultyhypothesizing about where the piece mightgo. They tend to treat their growing envision-

I N C L U D I N G S T R U G G L I N G R E A D E R SI N A N E N V I S I O N M E N T - B U I L D I N G C L A S S R O O M

ments as collections of ideas rather than cohe-sive and ever-changing wholes.

Yet, when less proficient readers engagein thought-provoking literary discussions,they perform more like proficient readersbecause the thinking of their peers is visibleto them and they have models for buildingunderstanding. Through participation inenvisionment-building discussions, they gainreading strategies, e.g., models for ways tothink about reading purposes, literary content,possibilities for meaning. They learn whatcounts in the discussion and use that knowl-edge to develop their envisionments. They seetheir classmates working together to explorethe horizons of possibilities, sometimes puz-zling together over meaning, and they learnnot only that puzzling and questioning arenormal but also that their experiences, per-spectives, and knowledge add important un-derstandings to the discussion.

ften students who

struggle with reading

find themselves dis-

tanced from class-

room activities.

What kind of

support do

these

readers need?

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P A G E 1 4

tudents need

support before,

during, and after they

participate in a

literary discussion.

Teachers can do

many things to help

students develop

their envisionments.

Beginning on page

16, we offer

samples to illustrate

activities that

are effective.

S

Instructionalscaffoldingfor thinkingand discussing

P A G E 1 5

Helping students

move in and

through various

reading stances

Learners often need support when facing new or difficult tasks. When ap-propriate support (or scaffolding) is not provided, they may go off task,lose interest, or give up completely. Teachers can use the four reading stancesto help students explore horizons of possibilities and thus develop theirliterary understanding. For example, if students are spending much of thetime in one stance, the teacher can help them extend their thinking by ask-ing a question or modeling thinking in another stance. Effective instruc-tional scaffolding also allows students to develop skills for supporting,challenging, and shaping thinking.

Teachers need to be careful listeners and observers so they can deter-mine when and what kind of support students require at any given time.As students internalize the process, scaffolding can be decreased and fi-nally eliminated. Two kinds of instructional scaffolding are particularlyhelpful as students learn to think more deeply about literature: scaffoldingways to discuss and ways to think.

Tapping understandingAsk questions that invite students toexpress ideas, e.g., “What were youthinking as you finished reading?”“What questions would you like tobring to the discussion?” “What partof the story was most powerful? Why?”

Seeking clarificationAsk for clarification or restatement, e.g.,“Can you say more about that idea?”“I’m not sure that I understood. Areyou saying …?” “Can you say that inanother way?”

Inviting participationShow students how to enter a conver-sation, e.g., “What questions do youhave?” “Does anyone want to respondto Willie’s comment?”

Orchestrating discussionShow students how to converse, agree,disagree, connect and extend ideas, e.g.,“Sam, you’ve had your hand up forawhile. What would you like to add?”“Devon, do you want to go back tosomething Maria said earlier?” “Talkto one another, not just to me.”

Focusing ideasHelp students focus and narrow in onconcerns, e.g., “You’re saying that itwasn’t what the children did then?”“What was the character’s purpose fordoing that?”

Shaping argumentsHelp students shape their ideas intotighter presentations, e.g., “I wonderwhether your idea is limited to just onecharacter or whether the idea works forother characters as well?”

Linking concernsHelp students use other ideas from thediscussion, from the text, or other read-ings to develop their own interpreta-tion, e.g. “Listen to Henri. He says thatthere are two ideas in the poem. See ifyou agree or disagree.”

Upping the anteProvide new and less obvious ways tothink about their ideas and concerns,e.g., “How is the view of the charac-ters in this play different from our mod-ern view?” “Who agrees that it’s a goodidea to forget and start over? Why?”

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P A G E 1 6

The teacher is preparing to read The Mud Pony(Caron Lee Cohen) to a first-grade class. Sheopens the windows to bring in fresh air as thestudents gather on a rug that defines their storyand discussion area. She then lowers the lightsto set the mood for the reading. Taking a seatwith the children, she holds the book up andintroduces it.

Teacher: This story is called The Mud Ponyand it’s by Caron Lee Cohen andthe illustrations are by ShontoBegay. Shonto,that’s an interestingname. The Mud Pony.

Students: Mud Pony.Teacher: This is a story that has been told by

a group of Native People called thePawnee.

Students: Pawnee.Teacher: And they’ve been telling the story

for a long, long time. And the authordecided to write the story in wordsthat we could understand.

Juan: Did it say adapted or the other onein the front?

Teacher: It doesn’t say adapted and that’s avery good question.So this author doesn’t do what TerryColin does. This author said retold.I’m very glad you brought that up,Juan, because this author said thatshe retold the story which meansshe is telling it very closeto the real, real original story. NowTerry Colin adapted her stories andthat means that she didn’t quitemake them exactly like they’vebeen told.

Before students tackle a new reading, it is important that theteacher create the context. These preparations can be elaborate orsimple and often include signals that students are about to en-gage in a literary experience. What is essential is that teachersprovide ways to invite students into the experience and to encour-age them to explore horizons of possibilities as a way to developtheir own interpretations.

Middle school students are preparing to readGirl Who Owned a City (O.T. Nelson). At thebeginning of this novel all adults in the worldare dead and only children under the age ofthirteen remain. All public services are gone,and the children are forced to rely on theirlimited skills to survive.

As preparation for reading, the teacher asksstudents to imagine a world with no adultsand to individually list the advantages anddisadvantages of this situation. The studentsbring their chairs into a circle. Desks aremoved out of the way and unrelated booksand papers remain outside of the circle. Theteacher and students sit so they can seeand respond directly to one another.

Candy: I couldn’t find any strong pointsand it made me realize how muchI like my parents.

Teacher: Okay, what did you see as aproblem?

Candy: Well, first you’d think like great, noschool, but then you think, geez,we’d all be pretty dumb.

Barbara: But you wouldn’t have to listen toanyone.

Candy: But there’d also be no one to giveyou advice. Would you listen to asix-year-old?

Lily: Candy is true. The strong pointsare all really weak points. Whowould make food? Who would carefor you?

Al: The strong point that I have is nothaving to answer to anyone, nothaving to tell them like a D on yourreport card or coming home late.

ExcerptExcerpt

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P A G E 1 7

xamples of things to

say at the end of a reading(short story, selection,chapter) to invite students’initial understandings:Jot down what you werethinking as you finishedthe piece.

List thequestionswe need totalk about.

Write aboutwhatbothered(concerned,interested,delighted)you at theend of thestory or tell your partnerabout the part that standsout for you.

Draw a picture of whatyou see.

Circle words or phrasesthat seem important orpuzzling.

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Inviting initialunderstandings

Tapping what students are thinking

at the end of a reading but before

a discussion puts student concerns at the

center of the discussion. These initial

understandings are always subject

to change and are often incomplete, but

they provide ways to begin an exploration.

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P A G E 1 8

A high school teacher helps students developand extend their envisionments of The GreatGatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald). Note how theteacher keys in on their concerns and encour-ages students to build on others’ thoughts todevelop their own understandings.

Teacher: Christie, why don’t you start usoff? inviting

Christie: One thing I wrote down was Iwasn’t exactly sure why he wasinvited to Gatsby’s party. Why washe invited?

Teacher: Not why Gatsby, why Nick?clarifying

Christie: Right.Teacher: Okay. Do you have any guesses?

Any ideas at all?tapping understandings

Petal: They said that Miss Baker, shedidn’t know Gatsby, right? ‘Causeit seemed weird that out of thatcrowd, that Gatsby like took heraside and told her some secret. Ididn’t think she knew him at all,only knew who he was.

Audra: When he met her, and he metMiss Baker at Daisy’s, I thoughtshe said something about Gatsby,and he was curious because hedidn’t know anything about it, buthe never got a chance to ask herabout it.

Petal: So he did.Teacher: She did. We don’t know what the

connection is, but she firstmentioned Gatsby at Daisy’shouse. Has your question beenanswered Christie? Why [was Nickinvited]? There are two possibili-

ties. One is that everybody goesto the Gatsby mansion.orchestrating, shaping

Christie: But he got invited by invitation.Teacher: Aha. That’s your question. Okay,

your suggestion is that he is anext-door neighbor. focusing

Pablo: Yeah, and maybe that Gatsby justwanted another acquaintance, adifferent kind of acquaintance.Now all of a sudden he wants totell him something.

Teacher: Yeah, we get the sense that theseother folks are regulars. What is itthat amazes you? This is a wordI’ve heard come out of yourmouths. What is it that amazesyou? shaping, upping the ante

Audra: It seems so elaborate that hegoes, that these parties areregular parties, but they seem soelaborate and so huge, and solike things that you have to dressup for. People drunk and runningall over the place, and peopledon’t even know him.

Teacher: Jess?Jess: In a way though, what Audra said

about everybody doing it. Becausewhen he finally meets Gatsby andasks, Gatsby is like, “You don’tknow who I am.” It was, you know,everybody should know whohe was. linking

Pablo: They knew who he was,but they never reallymet him . . . .clarifying

Ron: Yeah, it seems like thesepeople were in a fog.

changes across time. They support studentsas they consider multiple perspectives fromwithin the reading and from their own ex-periences. In this way students learn to usediffering views from the discussion as waysto explore, refine, and challenge their ownideas and the ideas of others.

Supporting the development of interpretations

Teachers can help students develop andextend their envisionments by questioningand building on their current understand-ings. To do this they encourage students tothink about possible explanations for ac-tions, events, or emotions and to reflect on

ExcerptExcerpt

The

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s students respond tothese sample questions,ask them to explain andprovide support for theirthinking.

How does the way thispiece is written (language,literary devices, style, etc.)affect your understanding?

If a psychologist (reporter,lawyer, historian, etc.) wereto look at this character,what might she say?

How do the roles of thecharacters in this storyconnect with current newsevents?

If these characters were toface this same conflicttoday, how might the storybe different?

What does the author sayabout the culture in thisstory? What is your view?

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StocktakingIt is important for students to un-derstand that envisionments candevelop beyond class meetingtimes. By concluding a discussionwithout shutting off thinking, theteacher helps students to continueto consider ideas and issues.Teachers can close sessions bysummarizing key ideas, notingchanges in ideas, and pointing toconcerns not yet adequately ex-pressed. This leaves room for fur-ther exploration of possibilitiesand envisionment building.

Girl Who Owned a CityTeacher:I have to do something. I have tostop you. Tomorrow we still have aquestion about realism. Kentbrought it back again. We have aquestion about changing. We stillhaven’t finished that. And if there’sanything anyone else wants to sayabout the ending of the story.We’ve talked about the ending,we’ve talked about change, andwe’ve only touched on Jimmy’sissue of realism.

The Mud PonyTeacher:Aha. Well, I think your question issomething worth thinking about. Ithink we will all give that somethought, and I thank you for yourquestion. Maybe later we can talkabout that question: Why was thisboy the only one at the beginning ofthe story who didn’t seem to have apony and who got teased?

Inviting studentsto take a criticalstanceTo help students step back fromtheir envisionments, take a moreobjective look, and analyze theirunderstandings, the text, and theirexperiences, teachers ask studentsto examine related issues and al-ternative perspectives and to ex-plore textual features and literaryconcepts.

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“All Summer in a Day”Teacher:We haven’t talked about Williamand we really haven’t talked aboutMargot at all. And so that is one ofthe things I’d like you to think aboutas you do your quick-write tonight.I’d like you to think about thewriter’s style, but I would also likeyou to think about what a sciencefiction story should do for you. Canyou, as Nick said, ignore the settingor is there a problem for you? ThenI’d like you to think about why theauthor selected this setting. Youdon’t have to answer all of thesequestions, but I’d like you to thinkand write about at least one ofthem tonight.

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StrategyStrategy

hroughout this booklet we have mentioned

a number of strategies that help students de-

velop their envisionments of literature. In this

section we say a few more words about five of

these strategies and provide some classroom

excerpts that illustrate them. The strategies are

written conversations, response journals, dis-

cussion guides, think-aloud or paired/shared

readings, and quick-writes.

T

Response journals can take many different formsdepending upon student needs and teacher goals. Es-sentially students use them to respond to their read-ing. Teachers might suggest questions students canconsider as they write or ask students to record andrespond to their own questions. Students may use adouble entry format so that they can return to earlierresponses and reflect and comment upon them or ex-change journals and respond to classmates’ entries.

Excerpt:

Double-entry journal Canyons (Gary Paulsen)

My responseI think that the spiritsreally did take CoyoteRuns. I think thatCoyote Runs is a spiritcommunicating toBrennan. Brennan awokewith a pain in his headand leg, that is whereCoyote Runs wasshot. I think CoyoteRuns will help Brennanin Brennan’s life. I thinkBrennan is all reactedto the skull. I thinkBrennan’s dreams haveto do with the Indiantribe that CoyoteRuns belongs to.

My reflections(several days later)I think here I wasreally thinking andguessing really well. Iwas right about a lotof things. I’m stillwondering about thedreams Brennan had. Ireally don’t get thesnake dream because itdoesn’t fit in with theothers.

More about

strategiesto improveliteraryunderstanding

StrategyStrategy

Written conversations take place betweenpairs of students. Sharing a sheet of paper, theycommunicate their ideas and ask one anotherquestions by writing their thoughts. They are ableto converse on topics of concern to them whilecapturing their thoughts for further consideration.

ExcerptMiddle school students’ written conversation aboutGirl Who Owned a City (O.T. Nelson).

Dear Barbara,I’m sort of behind in GWOAC, so don’truin it for me, okay?

Sally,I like the book but I don’t like Lisa becauseshe is very bossy and she sort of yells at thekids when she talks. What page are you on soU know? I am on 128.

Barb,I’m only on 103. I guess I agreewith you that Lisa is boss but it seemsas though everyone is letting her be bossywhich I don’t like because even in ahorrible situation like that I don’t seehow everyone can do whatever Lisa says.

P A G E 2 1

StrategyStrategy

StrategyStrategyStrategyStrategy

Quick-writes capture ideas quickly and make themavailable for further discussion. The writer focuses onthoughts, questions, and concerns. Because this writingis used as a way to collect ideas, it is not assessed forgrammatical accuracy or spelling.

Excerpt:

Halfway through the story, “All Summer in a Day,” studentswere asked to capture what they were seeing. This is Ivan’sresponse.

I see Margo as a very sad and small girl who can’tdefend herself against the others in her class. I seethe other children in the class as very mean. Theyall probably don’t hate Margo but because they goalong with what their classmates are doing I thinkthey are equally as mean.

Think-aloud or paired/shared readings askstudents to read aloud in pairs or groups, stoppingwhenever a thought, question, or concern occurs toany of them. Sharing makes thinking visible.

Excerpt:Discussion following a think-aloud about “All Summerin a Day”

Teacher: Did anyone do anything before you startedto read?

Some student responses• I wondered what the title meant. Can summer happen

in one day?• I thought that I had read something before by Ray

Bradbury. He writes science fiction, I think.• I looked to see how long the story was.

Teacher: As you were reading, most of you stopped manytimes along the way. What caused you to stop?

Some student responses• I wanted to know why Margot was so sad.• We both had trouble understanding some parts.

Why did he have so much description?• There were some words I didn’t understand.

Teacher: When you finished the reading, what did you talkabout? What were you thinking?

Some student responses• We talked about why we didn’t like the ending. Was

Margot dead? We can’t decide.• We wondered why the teacher didn’t miss Margot when

they went outside.

Discussion guides provide the support nec-essary for learners to develop more sophisticatedenvisionments. As they internalize the informationand processes necessary for deeper understanding,students need less guidance and become increasinglymore independent. For example, a teacher may pro-vide guiding questions from the perspectives of thevarious stances as students learn to think more deeplyabout their reading. As students begin to ask theirown questions, the guiding questions become morecomplex or are removed completely.

Excerpt:This guide was designed to move middle schoolstudents through the stances and to deepen theirunderstandings of a poem. Members in each smallgroup facilitated discussion and recorded the re-sponses on the guide and later shared them with thewhole class. The responses from one of those groupsare in green.

English Group members: U, K, L, H, APoetry InterpretationsTitle: Taught Me PurpleAuthor: Evelyn Tooley Hunt

Possible interpretations:K – Her mother could tell her how to feel aboutlife and could never show her how to go aboutit.U – The color purple symbolizes the rules of lifeand how to go about using them. The goldencolor represents the beauty of life and nature.A – Her mother wanted her to have everythingshe never had. The color purple also symbolizesthe hardships of life.

Techniques:The poem has an A,B,C,D. . .etc rhyme scheme.

Discussion questions:• Why couldn’t her mother teach her pride?• On line 11, what do they mean - who knew so

much of duty?• Why does the poet use the color purple?• On line 5 and 6, what do they mean – Her

mother taught her golden, and held her up tosee it?

Literature CitedBradbury, R. (1992). “All Summer in a Day.” In J.N. Beatty and W.L. McBride (Eds.), Literature and Language (pp. 123-129). Evanston, IL: McDougal, Littell. (Original work published 1954)Cohen, C.L. (1988). The Mud Pony. New York: Scholastic.Fitzgerald, F.S. (1990). The Great Gatsby. New York: MacMillan.Hunt, E. T. (1992). “Taught Me Purple.” In J.N. Beatty and W.L. McBride (Eds.), Literature and Language (p. 321). Evanston, IL: McDougal, Littell. (Original work published 1964)Nelson, O.T. (1975). The Girl Who Owned a City. New York: Dell.Paulsen, G. (1991). Canyons. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell.Taylor, M.D. (1991). Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Penguin USA.

AcknowledgementsThis publication would never have been possiblewithout the efforts of Janet Angelis, our expert editor.

Our appreciation is extended to all the people who sogenerously responded to drafts of this publication atvarious stages along the way. Their commentsand suggestions were insightful and helpful.They include:

Professional ColleaguesDale Allender Urbana, ILJim Burke San Francisco, CASharon Chaney Nashville, TNArlene Clausell Morgantown, WVJeffrey N. Golub Tampa, FLJudith Irvin Tallahassee, FLTeri S. Lesesne Huntsville, TXAkiko Morimoto Vista, CAKathy Rowlands Pittsburgh, PASallie Snyder Gold Beach, ORDavid Wendelin Golden, COJeffrey D. Wilhelm Orono, ME

CELA’s Educational Outreach

Advisory BoardElizabeth BergerLinda CarrMarcia ClashGladys CruzStacey DawesCarol Forman-PembertonMaureen Sara

CELA StaffPeter JohnstonJacqueline MarinoEija Rougle

Photo credits: Langer, Elena SiebertClose, Mark SchmidtDesign and production management: Benigraphic Publications, Inc.

Related reports available:

Thinking and Doing Literature: An 8-YearStudy (Langer, 1997) Report 6.8

A Response-Based Approach to ReadingLiterature (Langer, 1994) Report 6.7

Approaches Toward Meaning in Low-andHigh-Rated Readers (Langer, 1993)Report 2.20

Supporting the Process of Literary Under-standing: An Analysis of a ClassroomDiscussion (Roberts and Langer, 1991)Report 2.15

his booklet can only pro-

vide a brief overview of

some of the findings from

the work of Langer and

other researchers at CELA.

Additional information is

available on the CELA

website; from

Langer’s Envisioning

Literature: Literary

Understanding and

Literature Instruction

(Teachers College

Press, 1995); and

Conversations in

Literature, a progam of

Annenberg/CPB.

T

http://cela.albany.edu/publication/envisionment.htm

The Center on English Learning & Achievement (CELA) is supported by the Office ofEducational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education (awardnumber R305A960005). The research on which this booklet is drawn was con-ducted under OERI grants G008720278 and R117G10015. The contents of thisdocument do not necessarily represent the positions of OERI, the department, orany agency of the U.S. Government.

CELA is the only national center funded bythe U.S. Department of Education toconduct research dedicated to improvingthe teaching and learning of Englishlanguage and literacy, grades K-12.

CELA’s mission is to identify the bestways to strengthen English and languagearts programs, practices, and policies.CELA researchers focus on the knowledgeand skills students need to effectivelyread, write, and communicate throughouttheir lives.

For more information,contact:National Research Center on EnglishLearning & AchievementUniversity at Albany, ED-B9State University of New York1400 Washington AvenueAlbany, NY 12222

Phone: 518.442.5026Fax: 518.442.5933Email: cela@albany.eduhttp://cela.albany.edu

September 2001