Making Meaning
“Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . .
There is so much more to reading than the mere decoding of words. This cerebral process involves a compilation of strategies that the reader uses to make sense of the symbols on the page. Readers have to follow visual cues, understand structure, know print concepts, and make sense of text. We read to understand – to make meaning.
We are tasked with helping our students develop the strategies to decode and comprehend. To be effective, we need to remember what it is like to walk in an emergent reader’s shoes. During the latest ERG reading event, The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading, I had the chance to do just that.
We were presented with an emergent level text, given a “gist statement,” and told to read the book. The title of the book was Playing. It was about two children who were playing with some of their prized possessions. There was one catch – the book was written with symbols other than traditional ABC’s. Step by step, we had to use the pictures and symbols to figure out the letters and words. Then we had to put it all together to construct meaning. Here we were – a group of so called “proficient readers” – stumped. Luckily, we were able to work together, use our background knowledge, and draw upon our concepts of print. Step by step, we were able to decode, read the text, and make meaning.
Here is an example of the task: Playing
We were in a risk-free environment where we could laugh and work together to decode the text. We used a variety of strategies such as picture cues, familiar symbols, number of characters, and spaces between the words. When we finished, I thought about this process. This is what we ask emergent readers to do – take symbols, decode them, and make meaning. It is a developmental task that needs to evolve in a risk-free environment with modeling and support. Calling words fluently is a great skill, but making meaning is the true goal of reading.
Here are a couple of activities for students to experiment with decoding and making meaning.
Click here for a site where students can create their own codes: http://www.abcya.com/decoder_puzzle.htm
Have your students give this a try: Secret Code Key
You also might like to follow Jan Richardson’s literacy tips: