Interactive/Transactive Theory of Reading

Reading is an interactive process, where there is a transactive give and take of information from the writer to the reader. For this transaction to occur, students must understand why they are reading the text. Establishing a purpose for reading is an essential but often overlooked component of the reading process.

As adults, we are accustomed to the reading process and know what information to take away as we read. For children, this transaction is nebulous. Beginning readers need your guidance to learn what the author is trying to give them and what they should take away. Teaching this is a three step process consisting of pre-reading activities, during-reading activities, and after-reading activities.

To illustrate how this concept can be applied, let’s look at a second-grade group who is studying animals.

Pre-reading activities: A week before going on a field trip to the zoo, the teacher explains to the class that they are going to read several books about African animals. Before reading, the teacher should introduce new vocabulary words. The teacher should point out these new words while showing pictures of the animals. The teacher should also explain interesting facts that the book contains, so the students have an idea about what information is important for them to comprehend.

During-reading activities: As students read each book, the teacher should assess their comprehension and guide their understanding of the material. To do this, use leveled or guided questioning to help students to interpret what they are reading.

After-reading activities: Once the students have read, the teacher can assess their understanding of the material. The teacher can also help the students compare and contrast the information from the different books they have read. The after-reading activities should then climax with the field trip to the zoo.

Notice that the bulk of this teacher’s instruction occurred with the pre-reading activities. The teacher was largely guiding the students’ comprehension throughout the during-reading and after-reading activities.