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1. I connected the idea of visual essays and texts to the multiliteracies/new literacy theory. In the article, the students were using many digital tools including slide presentation programs, Google Docs, and iPads. Students were tasked with creating their own visual essays and making their own meaning from images they compiled for their presentation. Consistent with the New London Group (1996), proponents of multiliteracies/new literacy theory, "teachers must function not as technicians but as curriculum designers" (Handsfield, 2016, p. 87). I also connected this idea of creating visual essays and texts to critical sociocultural theory. According to Reilly and Goen (2015), "when students took the role of composers of image essays, we asked them to think as authors, and to become aware of how the texts they create may be perceived by audience members" (p. 64). Students taking on the role of authors supports critical sociocultural theory as they are given a sense of power and agency as they make meaning of texts.

2. I think the connection between the text, "Reading: The Grand Illusion," Handsfield text, and the article "Making Meaning, Visibly: "Writing" and "Reading" is how individuals construct their own meaning of texts through their backgrounds and experiences. This aligns with both coherence and incoherence theories, but not correspondence theories, which "do not attend to broader social and cultural contexts" (Handsfield, 2016, p. 16). In the article, students were active participants in constructing meaning and were not simply trying to uncover the "right" answer as they viewed and analyzed each other's visual essays. Learning can be seen as a process rather than creating a specific product.

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1. The connection is taking into account all of the students' background knowledge and family history of experiences and then by connecting an image, it may cause a disconnect that would require discussion. If the student is allowed to choose the image it will make it very clear to the teacher where they are coming from. I like the idea of letting students tie writing and images together to further develop their explanations. Even better, if all students share they can learn a lot of different views and boost their critical thinking skills as well as cultural diversity skills.
2. The purpose of reading is for the reader to connect--they connect and force images in their brains while reading. These images and feelings are all based on their personal past experiences and previous learning. This is why I love book clubs so much. Several students can read the same book but interpret or imagine it a very different way than their peers. The discussions bring this diversity to the table and allow for students to step outside of their way and be open to another person's thoughts and images. Great learning happens here.

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1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories presented in the Handsfield text?

Visual essays definitely connects to Multiliteracies / New Literacies. These theories support that "literacy instruction must help students negotiate the multitude of semiotic systems that permeate students' everyday lives" (Handsfield, 2016, p. 87). Visual essays are a form of writing that incorporates technology and other forms of literacy than traditionally has been utilized.

2. In the text, "Reading: The Grand Illusion", by Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, and Steven L. Strauss, the authors present the idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. How does this idea connect to the Handsfield text and "Making Meaning, Visibly: "Writing" and "Reading" Image Essays" by Kathleen A. Reilly and Jennifer Goen?

In my observation, the only theories that would not agree with meaning-making as the purpose of reading may be the Correspondence Theories that would view meaning as inherit in an object. The theories in this family would state that "knowledge is based on sense data, on what the observer and see, hear, touch" (Handsfield, 2016, p. 15). All other theories in the cognitive constructiviist, social constructivist, and social constructionist theories agree that meaning-making is done by the individual and that it is the main importance in the reading process.

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1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories presented in the Handsfield text?

One theory I connected this concept to was transactional /reader response theory. According to Reilly and Goen (2015), "Many students think that their role as readers is to discover that meaning, not contribute to or affect it" (p. 59). Through visibly "writing" and "reading" image essays, Reilly and Goen taught students how to have a higher level of critical engagement with text. This supports transactional/reader response theory because of the focus on the reading as a transaction, allowing students to form their own interpretation of text rather than "uncovering a single, correct meaning coded in words on a page" (Reilly & Goen, 2015, p. 59). I also connected this article to multiliteracies/new literacies theory. Hansfield (2016) states, "NLS focuses not so much on the newness of literacy tools and practices but rather on the newness of ways of studying and understanding literacy" (p. 86). Developing a thesis essay after reading a text was not new. The nonverbal image essay was a new way for students to show their understanding of the text.

2. In the text, "Reading: The Grand Illusion", by Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, and Steven L. Strauss, the authors present the idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. How does this idea connect to the Handsfield text and "Making Meaning, Visibly: "Writing" and "Reading" Image Essays" by Kathleen A. Reilly and Jennifer Goen?

I connected Reading: The Grand Illusion to many theories in the Hansfield text including coherence theories both cognitive constructivism and social constructivism and social constructionist theories. The theories I did not connect Reading: The Grand Illusion to were correspondence theories. According to Hansfield (2016), "Correspondence theories priviledge the individual, view learning as a linear process of accumulating skills supported by highly controlled and structured engagements, and typically do not attend to broader social and cultural contexts" (p. 16). To me this seemed to be the opposite of what was suggested in Reading: The Grand Illusion.

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1. The idea of substituting traditional texts with non-word texts in some lessons is very intriguing.  Visual essays and texts are examples of new or modern modes of learning.  Therefore, I was able to connect these literacy practices with the new literacies theory.  As stated by Handsfield (2016), "literacy encompasses several modes" (p. 86).  New literacies theory also considers that as the world changes, so must teaching and learning.  That is exactly why the teachers in the article decided to implement visual essays and texts with their students.

2.  For me, "making meaning" always reminds me of the Transactional/Reader Response Theory.  Theorists believe that the "meaning readers construct and their responses to texts differ based on individuals' schemata" (Handsfield, 2016, p. 50). This theory has always been interesting to me because it explains exactly how and why people have differing opinions on every subject matter or topic. In the classroom, we have to build off of this theory and create an environment where students feel safe to share their opinions even if it goes against the majority.

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1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories presented in the Handsfield text?

What an interesting read! I had never heard of visual essays before. In the article, there was more than one literacy theory present. I connected the literacy practices in the article mostly to multiliteracies/new literacies theory and transactional/reader response theory. The article shared that students were encouraged to make their own meaning of the text instead of looking for one correct answer. Once students had a chance to analyze all slides, they used what they saw and their own schemata to draw different conclusions about Andrew’s thesis. I enjoyed identifying various digital tools used. MNLT allows students to study and understand literacy using new tools and practices. The assignment required students to create a text readers could make meaning from which is an important literacy skill. The literacy practice wasn’t new, but the tools used were new.

2. In the text, "Reading: The Grand Illusion", by Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, and Steven L. Strauss, the authors present the idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. How does this idea connect to the Handsfield text and "Making Meaning, Visibly: "Writing" and "Reading" Image Essays" by Kathleen A. Reilly and Jennifer Goen?

The idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning is common in more than one literacy theory. Perhaps the most important reason for reading is to understand. The comprehension of a text differs from person to person due to the information presented in the text and experiences the reader has. Theories such as schema theory, transactional/reader response theory, and sociocultural-historical theory for example all connect to how meaning making happens when interacting with texts.

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1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories presented in Handsfield text?

I connected the article to the Multiliteracies/New Literacies Theory the most, as others did. As educators, we are constantly changing curriculums, adding technology to our lessons,  creating fun tools for students to utalize, so on. Being able to incorporate new things, such as visual essays, is a part of what makes the MNLT so great.

2. How does "making meaning" connect to Handsfield?

In Handsfield's text, she discusses MANY different theories that correlate to meaning making, such as the sociocultural-historical theory, schema theory, MNLT, NLS, etc. She discusses more of the theories for "meaning-making" than she does the phonics based theories. For example, she discusses the schema theory and how, in that, students bring their own background knowledge to the text in order to make meaning of what they are reading. In the sociocultural-historical theory, we look at funds of knowledge and how students can read something and make different meaning of it based on their culture.

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1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories in the Handsfield text?
The idea of visual essays and texts connects to schema theory.

According to the Handsfield (2016) text, "readers construct interpretations of a text's meaning using both analysis of the print and their hypotheses about the text based on experiences and cultural understandings (p. 42). The students in the article were analyzing text and then creating a visual one for their peers to interact with to create meaning.
Another theory the article connects to is New Literacies. As Handsfield (2016) states, "NLS focuses not so much on the newness of literacy tools and practices but rather on the newness of ways of studying and understanding literacy" (p. 86). The students in the article were applying a new way to develop their essays through images (clipart, drawings, photos); attention was paid to multimodality.

2. How does this idea connect to the Handsfield text and article?

The purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning connects to the Handsfield text and article through New Literacy Studies (NLS). "Literacy practices are socially and culturally situated and ideological" (Handsfield, 2016, p. 172). Individuals' social and cultural experiences shape their meaning making when engaging with text and peer discussions about text. Sharing perspectives can add or change meaning (Reilly & Goen, 2015,  p. 64).

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1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories in the Handsfield text?

Handsfield (2016) says "Those working from a multiliteracies/ new literacies perspective argue that literacy instruction must help students negotiate the multitude of semiotic systems that permeate students' everyday lives" (p.87). I think this relates to the text in that students were asked to use their engagement in a text through traditional means to create a visual essay that "permeates students' everyday lives" by utilizing iPads and other technologies.

I also think Schema theory is incorporated in this activity because  ”readers construct interpretations of a text’s meaning using both analysis of the print and their hypotheses about the text based on experiences and cultural understandings” (Handsfield, 2016, p. 42). In the activity, readers were to become experts on the topic before they created a hypothesis and began work on their visual essay. All of the topics, though based from the same novel, varied enough that it shows the different funds of knowledge the students were working with to create relevant and powerful essays.

2. In the text, "Reading: The Grand Illusion", by Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, and Steven L. Strauss, the authors present the idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. How does this idea connect to the Handsfield text and "Making Meaning, Visibly: "Writing" and "Reading" Image Essays" by Kathleen A. Reilly and Jennifer Goen?

In the article, not only were the authors of the essays making meaning from the text, the audience members were forming their own meanings as well. While it was the author's job to lead the audience to the meaning of the text through their photo essay, the audience members were responsible for forming connections between the novel and the visual essay in order to make meaning.

Sidenote: this is one of the coolest projects/ learning activities I've ever read about. Cool article! :)

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I really appreciate your use of different digital formats.  I have never utilized Padlet so I appreciate the opportunity to experiment with it.

1.  Within the article you chose for this activity, the idea of visual essays and texts connects to a couple of theories present in the Handsfield text. The first obvious answer is transactional/reader response theory.  After studying these theories closely for a semester, the name "Rosenblatt" is a very helpful clue to knowing which theory is being presented.  In addition, it was very clear that the goal of the educators in this study wanted their students to demonstrate an "increasing un-
derstanding that our shared aim was not to transmit or to uncover a "right" answer about a thesis,
but to consider how they, as active participants,
made meanings" (Reilly & Goen, 2015, p. 64).
The second theory present within this article is multiliteracies/new literacies theory due to the fact that the educators conducting this study encouraged their students to use multiple modes of literacy learning, such as written text along with digital presentations.

2.  Throughout the text you read, it appeared that their main goal was for readers to understand that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning.
In Handsfield's text, we see this theory present in transactional/reader response theory as Handsfield (2016) states, "the knower and the outside world come together to mutually construct meaning" (p. 50).
In addition, the educators Reilly and Goen strongly desire for their students to make meaning of each other's presentations of a classic text and not just "get" the answer of what the text appears to be all about from another classmate.  Goen and Reilly (2015) experiment with this particular project forced students "to make meaning themselves and with each other for each text, rather than looking for a
correct answer from us; from study aids; or from
established, avid readers in the class" (p.  64).

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Hi everyone! Great job on the Prezi, and I love the use of Padlet!

1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories present in the Handsfield text? I think this correlates with transactional/ reader response theory. One of the goals for the students was to "not only focus on the features embedded in the text but also on the transaction they make with a work when they actively read it" (Reilly and Goen, 2015, p. 59). However, instead of students approaching a written text from different stances, or constructing meaning of a written text, they do so with visual text. They also consider "what the text does" (Handsfield, 2016, p. 53).

2. The core text states that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. This connects with the article and Handsfield in regards to transactional/ reader response theory. Rosenblatt argues that reading is a transaction between the the reader and the text ("the knower and the knowledge") as readers construct meaning (Handsfield, 2016, p. 50-51).

One of the articles in the references discusses transactional/ reader response theory. I'm attaching it below in case any of you want to read it. :)

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Great job on your presentation!
1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories presented in the Handsfield text?
I immediately connected the article to is Multiliteracies/New Literacies Theory. As our world changes, so must our teaching and the way we engage our students. As Handsfield (2017) explains, "NLS focuses not so much on the newness of literacy tools and practices, but rather on the newness of ways of studying and understanding literacy" (p. 86).
2. In the text, "Reading: The Grand Illusion", by Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries, and Steven L. Strauss, the authors present the idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. How does this idea connect to the Handsfield text and "Making Meaning, Visibly: "Writing" and "Reading" Image Essays" by Kathleen A. Reilly and Jennifer Goen?
I think the connection is that meaning is constructed in different ways. I have a student, for example that heavily relies upon their schema to create meaning, where others in my class don't have much background knowledge to connect to and therefore uses the words or pictures to create meaning. This is quite a long video but wanted to share!

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Reading Workshop:[PART 1]Making Thinking Visible-Peel the Fruit (Book=Holes)

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In this Reading Workshop lesson we were celebrating our unit involving story elements. We used Holes as a mentor text throughout our unit. As a class we used the Cultures of Thinking Routine called "Peel the Fruit" to help us analyze the story and think deeper.

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First, I would like to start out by saying great job on your project Group 3! I really enjoyed these prompts and your project!

“Making Meaning, Visibly: “Writing” and “Reading” Image Essays” By: Kathleen A. Reilly and Jennifer Goen

1. How does the idea of visual essays and texts connect to theories presented in the Handsfield text?

I believe Handsfield would have related visual essays and texts to many theories. The theory from Handsfield that really resonated with me as I read this article was the Multiliteracies/ New Literacies Theory. In our theory chart we defined the Multiliteracies/ New Literacies Theory as “literacy encompasses several modes such as visual, kinesthetic, etc. and as times change, so must teaching and learning.” Instead of just having the students read and write, these authors focused on the students using different modes of learning which then helped the students make connections and analyze the texts. The beginning of the article stated “the authors challenged a group of mixed-ability tenth-grade students to use complex, evocative images and class discussion to “see” how readers make meaning with literacy texts” (Reilly & Goen,

2015). They are using Multiliteracies by having the students use images and collaborate to get a better understanding of the text which is the perfect example of putting this theory to use.

2.  In the text, “Reading: The Grand Illusion”, by Ken Goodman, Peter H. Fries and Steven L. Strauss, the authors present the idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. How does this idea connect to the Handsfield text and “Making Meaning, Visibly: “Writing” and “Reading” Image Essays” By: Kathleen A. Reilly and Jennifer Goen?

The authors present the idea that the purpose of reading is for the reader to make meaning. I think that all of the authors regardless of which passage we read or theory we discussed would agree with this in one way or another. This entire course has been about reading and language and how to apply the theories to give our students the most meaning through literacy. These theories help us as educators better understand literacy and how to best teach it to our students.

-Michelle Lacy