| This study explored eighth grade students' engagement with literature as reflected in reader response journals. The study was grounded in Rosenblatt's Transactional Theory. Through interviews, the study further explored what students revealed about their attitudes toward reading and writing, assessment of their literary abilities, and opinions of transactional elements in practice. Finally, from what students revealed in their reader response journals and their interview responses, the study discusses how well the reader response journal served as an indicator of students' engagement with literature.;Data collection methods included reading and coding reader response journals and interviewing the 25 students in the study. Additional information was gleaned from observations in an eighth grade classroom, conversations with the classroom teacher, and conversations with the school administrators. Several instruments were developed for the study, including a coding rubric to holistically analyze the content of reader response journals. Rosenblatt's elements of Transactional Theory, research on reader response journals, and analysis of student journal responses informed the design of the coding rubric. The Commission on Adolescent Literacy informed an understanding of reading development being on a continuum defined by this study as "not yet" to "aesthetically" engaged with literature.;Through careful analysis of the data, several findings were uncovered. In 60% of the 25 cases, the reader response journal served as an indicator of students' engagement with literature. Further analysis from students' self-report revealed that choice is an important transactional element, followed closely by social connections with peers and the teacher. In examining the importance of teacher protocols to students, the findings reveal that students perceive the teacher as mentor, social "pal," leader, or taskmaster based on their development as readers on the reading continuum. This investigation recommends the use of reader response journals as one means of formative assessment in further understanding eighth graders' engagement with literature. |
