Abstract :
In this qualitative study, the author explores how young readers build
literary understanding through performative responses in picturebook read-alouds.
Performative responses allow children to create and express meaning in ways that
go beyond talk and that engage their creativity and imagination. They include a
variety of modalities, such as gesture, mime, vocal intonation, characterization, and
dramatization. Certain children show a propensity for responding in individual or
characteristic ways. By focusing on the performative responses of one second-grade
reader, the author defines the characteristics of performative responses and how
children build literary understanding through them. Performative responses helped
this young, struggling reader to immerse herself in the story world, create the mood
of the story, show an understanding of the unfolding narrative, deepen her understanding
of characters, and involve her classmates in a rich, and sometimes raucous,
exploration of stories through spontaneous dramatizations. The author argues that
performative responses open up an imaginative world to children, allow children to
contribute actively to the construction of meaning, give children agency in creating
their own curriculum, and allow for a collaborative environment that builds on the
strengths of the students in the group.
