Learning to understand a novel through the lens of the narrative-personage system

Abstract

The level of familiarity with texts varies greatly according to the socio-cultural level of the students and can influence their reading abilities. Reducing inequalities by giving students the pleasure of reading, in line with the requirements of the school program, is therefore an essential objective for any teacher. Pupils aged 8 to 12 who attend elementary school in public schools in Geneva (Switzerland) are able to decode texts without too much difficulty, but they don't always understand them. Looking for effective and motivating approaches, in this contribution we present a didactic device for reading comprehension of a juvenile literature book, tried out in the classroom with a 7th grade class (10-11 years old). We give a brief overview of this device, commenting on the ways in which one of its main activities was carried out, as well as giving some examples which illustrate the possible learning achieved by the students thanks to it. We conclude with some comments on the teaching and learning of reading comprehension based on this experience.