Constructing Meaning From Text: An Analysis of Ninth-Grade Reader Responses

The cognitive processes of five successful and five less-successful ninth-grade readers used to construct meaning from narrative text were examined through analysis of the think-aloud protocols that the students recorded as they read two stories. After presenting the coding system used to analyze the protocols, I report findings in three areas: (a) The readers’ orientation toward reading-the readers were engaged primarily in story-driven and association-driven readings rather than in point-driven readings; (b) the effect of the type of story on the readers’ responses-the readers had a characteristic style of response that was not substantially affected by the type of story that they read; (c) the differences and similarities between the two groups of readers—there were few clear differences between the groups, although some did exist, most notably that the successful readers tended to rely more heavily on their personal experience than did the less-successful readers.