Reading: A Skill

1. Reading: A Skill Guess what? You are not finished learning how to read. You have a long way to go yet. I know this because I know that people have been sending you messages that you have not been “getting.” Those messages often fly over your head, and people assume you “got” it when you sometimes did not. Let me illustrate:

2. Please take out a piece of paper on which to jot some thoughts

3. Jot some thoughts about the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Then share your thoughts with a neighbor. Did you include all of the following points in your retelling of that story? • Little Red Riding Hood’s mother packs her some goodies to take to Grandmother’s house. • Little Red Riding Hood goes into the forest to deliver the goodies to Grandmother.

4. She meets the wolf. • She tells the wolf her destination and purpose. • The wolf tells her about a shortcut. • The wolf goes to Grandmother’s house, gets Grandmother out of the way, and waits for Red to arrive. • Red is saved by a woodsman.

5. Jot an answer: What messages were being sent to you in this story? • How old is Red? • Who would send a little girl out in the woods with dangerous wolves? • What gender is the wolf? • Is the wolf mature or immature? (Don’t tell me the story doesn’t say. You know the answer.)

6. Who saves Red? • In this story, which gender is active? Which is passive? • Why is the dominant color red?

7. Now guess what? I’m not going to give you the answers to those questions. Nope. Not one. You can figure it out. You are thinking about the story now, though, aren’t you? What do you think the wolf represents? What do you think the path through the woods represents? What do you think the shortcut is all about?

8. Uh-oh. Be careful. We’re delving into symbolism now, and you’re starting to think like an English teacher. Why do you think the women can’t save themselves? What is the story telling young children? Do you agree with the message? All of the answers and discussion that spring up because of the story and the questions asked deal with theme. Theme is what the story is about.

9. This is just a small example of what the study of Language Arts is all about. Writers send messages. Cultures send messages. Your friends send messages. Everybody sends messages. Intelligent and sophisticated people send messages, and they are not hidden messages. They are messages that the senders expect other intelligent and sophisticated people to understand. Starting to feel challenged yet? You should. Remember, the story of Little Red Riding Hood is a children’s fable; just wait until you get to the adult stuff. Understanding life, its meaning, and your relationship to the universe is a big deal.

10. Sandra Cisneros is sending you a message about what it is like for people growing up in the world. Sometimes she wants to narrow some of the ideas down to a specific culture and a specific type of person, but she also wants you to see some of yourself in this book. To understand the lives of others is to gain a better understanding of your own life. That’s one reason we’re reading this book.

11. Please take out your M&Ms notebook and write a 15-minute entry that explores this idea: To understand the lives of others is to gain a better understanding of your own life.