READING, an active search for meaning

Project financed with the support of the European Commission within the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme – Socrates Comenius Action 2.1 (2007-2010)

READING, an active search for meaning

Instructions

for use

How can I find my way in this module ?

Where do I begin ?

This little document will guide you. A

piece of time-saving advice : read it

carefully !

First, you will find the 3 indivisible steps which we think a reading teacher or guide should go through.

A presentation of the training module contents

What is in it ?

What are its objectives ?

...

READING, an active search for meaning

All of the words in the title have a meaning. Reading is setting off along the road to meaning : this road consists of texts, images, images and texts, gestures or simply, the world.

This voyage into the land of reading is easy for some, more difficult for others. It is up to teachers, who are the professionals of learning, to accompany the travellers who are in difficulty or who have broken down, provided that this accompaniment be intensive at the beginning and then that it gradually lead the student towards autonomy. Never should the teacher drive the car in place of the student.

1. The 3 steps

READING, an active search for meaning

Help the reader become aware of what has been involved in order to have access to meaning so that the reader can retrace the steps alone in other situations.

The teacher or the guide who wants to embark on this road should :

Become aware of the favorable conditions and the processes to be set up in order to have access to meaning ; if these conditions aren’t met or processes carried out, they become obstacles for understanding in reading.

Teach them and explicitly lead the reader to search for meaning.

These three steps are indivisible. For example, if only the first two are practiced, this would amount to keeping the power for the teacher, rather than leading the reader to become autonomous. The reader who doesn’t have access to meaning is suffering ; and this would make the reader even more fragile. We don’t have that right.

These three steps are indivisible. For example, if only the first two are practiced, this would amount to keeping the power for the teacher, rather than leading the reader to become autonomous. The reader who doesn’t have access to meaning is suffering ; and this would make the reader even more fragile. We don’t have that right.

READING, an active search for meaning

In this project, you will find all the documents needed to go through these 3 steps or to go into detail on one or the other of them.

2. The contents of the module :

1. A description of the lexical act

2. The obstacles to understanding in reading

3. A series of testimonials

5. A variety of fieldwork examples

4. The « understanding »  team : a powerhouse !

READING, an active search for meaning

The road to meaning Let’s begin with the lexical act:

If you click on this sign, to the right of the picture below, you will find:

- a general introduction

- and to facilitate reading it, a summary of the 12 chapters by J. Giasson, in powerpoint format.

- a document on « Les Neurones de la lecture » (The Reading Neurones)

- a comparison of texts/images/music

- an introduction to the book by J. Giasson, la Compréhension en lecture (Understanding in Reading), De Boeck, 2008, which served as the reference work for the project

Welcome page

for the site

1.

READING, an active search for meaning

2. The obstacles to understanding in reading

- If you click on this icon, you will find :

3. A series of testimonials

and

Sébastien (12 years old)

Julie (15 years old)

An adult (38 years old)

READING, an active search for meaning

- a summary of the obstacles to understanding based on the analysis by J. Giasson

4. The « understanding «  team : a powerhouse !

6 characters who symbolize the processes to be carried out in order to ensure understanding. They are presented in the form of characters active in the process of understanding, which should help develop awareness of this process, one of the 3 steps mentioned at the beginning of these instructions for use.

They make up a team and each one takes action in turn to ensure understanding.

They are generally represented by a deck of cards, which makes them even more concrete.

The specific action of each character is described on the back of each card.

Thank you to

our Portuguese

partners for

coming up with

this idea.

READING, an active search for meaning

5. A variety of fieldwork examples

There are different entrance points :

Ages

Countries

Obstacles

Languages

Types of signs

You just have to click on the sign indicating the entrance you have chosen.

READING, an active search for meaning

One last word about fieldwork examples :

The objective and the specificity of the Signes@sens project isn’t to collect a multitude of proposals for reading activities, but to provide concrete practice in how to help students overcome the obstacles and how to help them become aware of efficient strategies.

In short, a sequence is a sort of « report » on an activity for reading comprehension including everything that happened and an analysis of the

pedagogical interaction.

READING, an active search for meaning

A description of the lexical act : 3 documents + the book by J. Giasson

Obstacles to understanding in reading and testimonials

3 steps for the teacher or guide :

Fieldwork examples: from nursery school to adulthood and from 5 European contries.

In a chart :

All with the Understanding Team

Become aware of the procedures

Give explicit practice to achieve mastery

Make clear what has been involved

Produced by H. Delvaux with the IF Belgium, 2010.

Happy reading

Drawings by Régine Smal -Inforef