ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon the centrality of the reader in the reading process, and highlights issues of difference in the cultural and social histories that pupils bring to their reading. It deals essentially with the development of comprehension skills and developing understanding and requires the development of critical appreciation skills. Reading today requires pupils to experience texts that variously represent the world through written, digitised and visual language that the reader can interpret. The National Curriculum for English raises questions about what counts as reading, and is heavily weighted towards literary study. A reading autobiography charts out the history of reading, and attempts to include your most influential experiences with texts, which includes non-fiction. Whole-class readers, however, are used to achieve specific aims beyond examination preparation. Lunzer and Gardner's work on open-ended activities which help pupils to explore texts led to the development of Directed Activities Related to Texts (DART).
