Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Response Journals and Literature


Question: What is the value of response journals in developing understanding of literary works?

Answer/Quote: “The response journal (Bleich, 19975; Petrosky, 1982; Rosenblatt, 1976, 1978) is one forum for students to chronicle and evaluate their own meaning-making….” P. 476.

Quote: “These entries….demonstrate the important metacognitive dimension a journal can add to reader response pedagogy. Students who record and evaluate their interaction with text over a period of time invariably come to understand both the general process of how a reader negotiates meaning from a text and the specific sources of his or her own meaning-making.” P.  478.

Comment: I regret that I never had the opportunity to use response journals as a student and further regret that I never gave my students the opportunity to use response journals in their reactions to what they read in literature. At this late date (age 77), I am using response journals in my reading. They provide a dimension in meaning through my reflections. In fact, my blogs are a form of response journals. RayS.

Title: “Developing Metacognitive Awareness: The Response Journal in College Composition.” EV Newton. Journal of Reading (March 1991), 476-478.

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