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Journal > Language Arts
The (Un)Making of a Reader
by Margaret M. Foley
Grades | K – 8 |
Type | Journal |
Published | July 2000 |
Publisher | ![]() |
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Description |
Through looking critically at the underpinnings of "story mapping, a teacher uncovers a contradiction between the author's definition of reading as a constructive process and the reductionist nature of story mapping, which she shows inhibits students' potential to explore a diverse range of personal responses by promoting comprehension over response, uniformity over diversity, and control over freedom.
Foley, Margaret M. "The (Un)Making of a Reader." Language Arts 77.6 (July 2000): 506-511.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Once Upon a Time Rethought: Writing Fractured Fairy Tales
Students read and analyze fairy tales, identifying their common elements. They then write their own "fractured" fairy tales by changing one of the literary elements found in the original.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Book Report Alternative: Examining Story Elements Using Story Map Comic Strips
Comic frames are traditionally used to illustrate a story in a short, concise format. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip frame to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they've read. Each panel retells a particular detail or explains a literary element (such as setting or character) from the story.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Graphing Plot and Character in a Novel
In this graphical mapping project, students assign a value to the events, characters, and themes in a novel and think about how the elements of the story are all interconnected.