READING, an active search for meaning

1. 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) Instructions for use

2. READING, an active search for meaning How can I find my way in this module ? What is in it ? Where do I begin ? What are its objectives ? ... 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

3. READING, an active search for meaning 1. The 3 steps 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.

4. READING, an active search for meaning 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. • 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. 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.

5. 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 4. The « understanding »  team : a powerhouse ! 5. A variety of fieldwork examples

6. Welcome page for the site READING, an active search for meaning Let’s begin with the lexical act: The road to meaning - a general introduction 1. - a document on « Les Neurones de la lecture » (The Reading Neurones) - a comparison of texts/images/music If you click on this sign, to the right of the picture below, you will find: - 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 - and to facilitate reading it, a summary of the 12 chapters by J. Giasson, in powerpoint format.

7. READING, an active search for meaning 2. The obstacles to understanding in reading - If you click on this icon, you will find : - a summary of the obstacles to understanding based on the analysis by J. Giasson and 3. A series of testimonials Sébastien (12 years old) Julie (15 years old) An adult (38 years old)

8. READING, an active search for meaning 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. Thank you to our Portuguese partners for coming up with this idea. The specific action of each character is described on the back of each card.

9. READING, an active search for meaning 5. A variety of fieldwork examples You just have to click on the sign indicating the entrance you have chosen. There are different entrance points : Obstacles Ages Countries Types of signs Languages

10. 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.

11. 3 steps for the teacher or guide : • Become aware of the procedures • Give explicit practice to achieve mastery In a chart : • Make clear what has been involved A description of the lexical act : 3 documents + the book by J. Giasson Fieldwork examples: from nursery school to adulthood and from 5 European contries. Obstacles tounderstanding in reading and testimonials All with the Understanding Team

12. Happy reading Drawings by Régine Smal -Inforef Produced by H. Delvaux with the IF Belgium, 2010.