Learning involves deep thinking about issues essential to the human experience.  As a part of this, students consider their own experiences in order to make sense of the text.

1) Anticipation Guide

Students moved to different sides of the room based on whether they agreed or disagreed.  Many made connections to their own experiences to support their decisions.

2) Hope Journals

These entries were a chance for students to both respond to their reading and make connections to their lives.

Theory Support: Louise Rosenblatt

–The Reader, the Text, the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work

– There is a “reciprocal, mutually defining relationship” between the reader and the text

-The reader’s experiences help make sense of a text (and vice versa!)