I think sometimes we discount asking students their opinions about what they are reading. I know I certainly have in the past. The thought is that if student’s are offering their opinion they are not really getting to the depth of thinking that upper levels of high school English require. But when students are guided to consciously use reader response theories and how to write reader response, they can get to the same depths we might look for when using Formalism or New Criticism (preferred by both the College Board / AP® Programs and Common Core.)
Classroom Surprises Resulting from Reader Response Criticism
It’s true, sometimes our students surprise us and remind us why certain ideas exist to begin with. And my students certainly reminded me why reader response theories are popular. Recently, I introduced my AP® Literature Students to the schools of literary criticism. I spent a day doing something I NEVER do: lecturing. The idea was to give them an overview of each lens and then practice with short stories before moving into our study of Hamlet using these lens.
As a result of pandemic teaching, I hadn’t really used a seminar style of discussion with these students. However seminar used to be my “go to” in pre-pandemic days. I used to tell juniors who asked me about my AP® class that it is a discussion based course. But I definitely fallen off the discussion wagon since we came back from hybrid instruction.
Since we hadn’t used a “circle discussion” or “dining room table discussion” (as I often call them) at all this year, I decided to use a model that required students to go around the circle in turn. This is instead of a more natural, “pop corn” style of discussion. I wanted to make sure that each students’ voice was heard. It also felt like the first round should be something that everyone could answer no matter their comfort level with the text.
We started with the opening question: “What did you like or dislike about the text?”. And you know what? They brought it. It was awesome to hear their takes on the stories. And as we repeated the question over the course of several stories, their answer became better and more honest.
Because the question didn’t just let them say that they liked or disliked the text, they gave full responses that pinpointed something in the text. And, as a bonus, it was fairly easy to tell who was just guessing based on previous comments versus those students who had read and thought deeply about the text.
What is a Reader Response?
Reader response criticism is a literary criticism lens that believes that the reader’s reactions to a text a vital to the interpretation. It doesn’t necessarily exclude other literary lenses, but it makes the reader front and center. Readers are active in their meaning making. They bring their own backgrounds to the text. And, as a reader you change over time; therefore, the text is a “new text” each time you reread.
Reader response reactions are often thought to be a beginning place for discussion, not the end of it. Because the reader’s connection to the text matters, it allows for expansive discussions. Whether a reader likes or dislikes a text matters. But it doesn’t end there. What other readers are saying matters too. This is why reader response is a great place to begin a discussion and it often employed by book clubs which exist outside the educational setting.
Sometimes, you will see the reader response lens used to have students make text to self, text to text and text to world connections.
How to Write Reader Response
Because the reader response theories are open to what the reader brings to a text, there are limitless ways to employ them in writing.
The important thing for students to remember as they learn how to write reader response is that they should always return to the text. They need a clear claim which they support with evidence and analysis of the text. Their claims can be text to self, text to text or text to world, but these idea should bring in quotes from the text as evidence and then continue to make connections.
According to David Bleich in Readings and Feelings, students can write affective responses in which they not only discuss what the text is about, but also the feelings that it evokes for them as readers. Additionally, students can respond to text through their own associations with the text. These could begin with reader response sentence starters like “I remember,” “This reminds me of…” and “This brings up memories of …”
Reader Response is NOT
Writing through a reader response lens is NOT a summary of text. Instead, it’s an opportunity to assume that your reader has knowledge of the text and wants to know what you think about it. It must go beyond simply restating what is in the text to include opinions which are supported with evidence.
Additionally, reader response is not an opportunity for students to expound on the quality of the writing. Sentences like “the author did a good job presenting their imagery” and “the author’s excellent use of figurative language” have no place in this kind of writing.
Reader Response is not research. Instead because it relies on what the reader brings to the text, this kind of response should come solely from the connections that a student makes from their own feelings and experiences. A student may choose to include aspects of other literary lenses like Feminist criticism or Psychological criticism, but these should come from their own knowledge base and not be based on seeking out additional information.
It’s not a right or wrong situation. When we ask students to truly engage in a reader response lens, we asking for their feelings and connections. There is no way this can be wrong.
7 Ways to Teach Reader Response Criticism
It is so easy to encourage student to think deeply about what they are reading through reader response criticism. These seven ideas will easily teach students how to write reader response:
Quick Write
Students can begin with a quick write, as I did on the day I asked my students to respond to “Story of an Hour.” I gave them three questions to write briefly about the text, then we met in the discussion circle. The first question was “What did you like or dislike about this text?” The other two questions used different schools of literary criticism lenses.
Additional questions you could use:
- Why do I like or dislike the world of the text?
- What emotions do you feel when reading this text?
- To what extent do the details in the text illicit feelings?
- How can you connect this text to another text?
- All of these questions have to be followed up with what in the text illicits this feeling.
Dialectic Journals
Another way to write reader response journals is through dialectic journals. In a dialectic students create a two column chart. In the first column, they quote a passage from the text. Then in the second column they respond. Their responses often come from the reader response lens. These can be personal connections, text to text connections or text to world connections.
3 2 1 Strategy
The 3 2 1 strategy is a quick way to engage students in reader response. Instead of writing lengthy responses, they can just write 1-2 sentences for each prompt. For more on the 3 2 1 strategy, check out this post.
One Word Seminar
One Word Seminars are a great way to engage students in thinking more deeply. You could also use this a a writing prompt. Select one word to describe …. Explain. For more on one word seminars, check out this post.
Determine Importance
Ask students of to determine the importance of something in the text. You could pose questions like:
- What is the most important word or phrase in the text?
- What is the most important passage in the text? (Great for longer works)
- Who is the most important character?
- What is the most significant event or moment in the text?
- Which image in the text stands out most?
- Describe the most successful part of the text.
Once they have made their determination, ask them who it most important to: the characters, the author, or the reader. And then, they should explain their criteria for making this decision. The great thing about questions like these is that they can lead you to discussions of theme and motif.
Student Examples of Determining the Importance Reader Response
In these excerpts from reader response essay examples, you can see how my student have started to use criteria from Hamlet to determine the most important thing that Polonius says in Act 2 scene 1 or Act 2 scene 2:
The most important phrase Polonius speaks lies in 169-171, “If circumstances lead me, I will find Where truth is hid, though it were hid, indeed, Within the center”. This quote serves to leave the reader uneasy and has the potential to be a pivotal foreshadowing moment within the story as a whole. This quote also generally summarizes Hamlet’s madness plan as perceived by others around him. The general consensus is he COULD be mad, but there are always suspicions, like in this quote.
“This is the very ecstasy of love, Whose violent property fordoes itself And leads the will to desperate undertakings” (Lines 114-116) I think this is the most important because it shows Polonius believes Hamlet has gone crazy, not from the death of his father or the marriage between his uncle and mother, but because he is so taken with Ophelia. Polonius is excusing Hamlet’s absurd actions for a man deeply in love yet denied. Since it is revealed that Polonius was the one who told his daughter to ignore the calls from Hamlet, he most likely feels responsible for Hamlet’s mindset and will be willing to try and fix the situation.
“Come, we go to the King.” From this, we learn that Polonius controls women who are under him, he is going against what Ophelia wants because this marriage could benefit him. This tells us he would put himself before other family members wants. We can also see that he will make decisions for others without their input not even thinking how it could effect them just how it will effect him. He also makes many assumptions based of Hamlet and Ophelia’s behavior not letting them speak for themselves and putting himself into their situation uninvited because he believes that’s what is best.
Note that each student has selected a different phrase and yet all of them have used criteria which is deeply embedded in their understanding of the text.
Defend Importance
A variation on this would be to give the students the word or phrase or passage that you think is the most important and have them either agree or disagree. If a student chooses to disagree, they must explain why and pose a different word which they support.
Point of View Evaluation
We can also use reader response to evaluate point of view. One of the key aspects to examination of the point of view is the question of reliability. So ask you students whether they believe the narrator. Ask if they connect to the narrator. Ask what in the text causes these feelings. I love a set of questions like this for a text with more than one first person narrator. A great place to start is Ambrose Bierce’s short story “The Moonlit Road.” Not only can you ask whether they believe each narrator but also which one presents the strongest case.
As We Teach How to Write Reader Response, We Improve Close Reading
The first time I asked my AP® Literature students to choose the most important word or phrase. They hesitated. As students who want good grades, they thought this was a trick question. When I reminded them that this is a reader response lens, they relaxed. As a result of our use of reader response theories throughout the previous weeks, they know the reader matters in the reading process. So as we teach students how to write reader response, they become more confident in both their reading and writing.
Additional Resources
If you are looking for ready to use materials to teach Reader Response Theory:
Reader Response Anchor Charts and Task Cards
Literary Criticism Anchor Charts and Task Cards
And if you are looking for more ideas related to the Reader Response Lens, check out these posts:
5 Brilliant Strategies for Better Close Reading
Poems of the Harlem Renaissance
3 Excellent Short Films for Teens and How to Use them in your ELA Classroom
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