Wilhelm Chap 3

Wilhelm touches on various reader's response techniques, and I am very interested in two of them. The first are the visual protocols and second is the "Symbolic Story Representation" (SRI).
We always are reminded of the different learning styles which teachers must accommodate, and the visual protcols are a reminder that visual learners are actually out there. I like this strategy and I have actually studied a similar technique called guided imagery. As the name suggests, students are allowed to draw a picture that represents something or someone from what they have just read. What I like even more about the visual protocols that Wilhelm mentions is that they allow for a combination of writing and drawing. Being able to do both will empower students and even lead to interpretations of eachother's drawings. When students compare their drawings with one another, they will be suprised with how many different pictures can represent the same story. Let me mention that some who aren't confident with their art might feel a little apprehensive about sharing their work. Thus the sharing can take place in small groups. If there is a classroom community of learners established hinging on mutual respect, students should not fear sharing their work. Students should always be encouraged to develop mental images as they read, and the visual protocols take those images one step further.

I have never heard of the SRI, but it has so many potential benefits that I do not know how I'm not familar with this response strategy. First, the SRI is an alternative to the monotony of answering convergent summary and thematic questions while still urging students to look at these ideas. Second, the cutting out of shapes to represent thems, motifs, symbols, characters etc. brings a creative element to responding to literature. I'm convinced that in order to reach all readers, including those who struggle, it is necessary to foster creativity, and the SRI does just that. Third, it provides an opportunity to decorate the classroom with students' work. Fourth, it enables students to compare their cutouts with one another and to justify why they cutout a particular representation.

I want to leave by briefly touching on the idea of evaluating an author which is mentioned in Wilhelm's four "reflective dimensions" of response. I don't think many students realize enough what the author's purpose or intended audience is when they read. Often times they see an author as the omnicent speaker of truth. I'm not totally sure how to switch students to this critical mode of thinking, but we as teachers should continually encourage students to question the texts that they are reading, and this includes agreeing/disagreeing with an author's idea or political ideology. When student's are "trained" to examine the author's purpose by examining the historical context in which it was written, they can begin to see how effective or ineffective her writing is.