Hocked gems financing him, our hero defied the scornful laughter. Think of it as an egg, not a table, he said. Then three sturdy sisters sought proof, forging over vast calmness, and sometimes over turbulent peaks and valleys, until at last welcome winged creatures appeared, signifying monumental success.
1. What are the hocked gems?
From my limited knowledge on the word hocked, I believe it means to be taken or to be stolen. The man is being financed or paid for by stolen gems.
2. What should we think of as an egg and not a table?
I think the author is referring to some type of journey or task. Perhaps it is something that will require continuous work and the egg is used as a metaphor for something round with no end point. The table would be considered a representation for something with a definite starting and ending point.
3. Who are the three sturdy sisters?
I do not think the author means three literal sisters in this sentence. He could be referring to three people who will accompany him or support him on his journey or task. They could be described as sturdy to show that they are strong and will be able to stand by him on his journey.
4. What kind of winged creatures appeared?
I think the winged creatures that appeared were likely birds. They might have been a sign of good fortune on his journey or possibly a foreboding sign.
Reflection:
My interpretation of this passage is based on my own schemas and background knowledge. Thus, each student will have a different interpretation of this passage. This passage was extremely hard for me to understand because I struggled to find a schema that matched the text. I had very little background knowledge, so it took me quite a few times reading through to begin with an idea of why this was written. In order to activate my students' schemas, I would encourage them to look up words they might not be familiar with. A definition of one of those words could activate a schema they already have and help them when deciding what the author is trying to convey. If a student is having trouble with their schema and the text matching, I would revisit the text with them and see which words are causing the trouble. Perhaps just one word is being misinterpreted and is throwing the rest of the passage off. In a task like this one, I would ensure that my students understand there is not a right or wrong answer. They are being asked for their interpretation. As long as they are able to tell me why they interpreted it the way they did, I feel they would have done an excellent job. I believe in challenging my students, but I also believe in selecting appropriate books for them. If they were to become too frustrated with a passage, I would adjust my teaching to provide a text for them that meets their needs.
I agree with your thoughts on having a hard time to draw upon a schema that would match the text. It is interesting to see how we differed and how we were alike in some of the questions. This is the perfect example of how schemas can create different meaning for different people.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of having students look up a word to draw upon schemas. That would have been a good idea for me to have used! I do think that students should be reminded that there is no right or wrong answer. I think this is a great task to increase the rigor of a reading activity to really get the children's brains thinking critically.
I found it so interesting that you saw the egg has something round which symbolized something with no end point. This is a very good interpretation of this passage. I love seeing how different people get different meaning from a text based on their own schemas. I also struggled to interpret this passage. I can see how children in school have a hard time understanding many texts especially when they have little background knowledge. I never really understood how difficult this must be for children until I had to do this exercise. I also find it interesting that even though we did interpret many of the questions similar, we had different views for some of the answers.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your interpretation. I thought it was interesting how you saw the "three sturdy sisters" as people who stood beside a man on his journey. When teaching reading concepts, I believe it is important for students to connect with a text to gain meaning and comprehend it. As educators, it is our role to gain background knowledge on our students to determine their level of vocabulary when reading a text. I enjoyed how you explained the importance of helping students understand a text by "activate a schema they already have and help them when deciding what the author is trying to convey." As teachers, it is important to help students remember the role of the author and gain meaning from their text. During my student teaching experience, students completed a 30 day Eric Carle unit in which students were reading, writing, and trying to understand the author's purpose of writing his books. All in all, I truly enjoyed reading your interpretation of the passage.
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