Rosenblatt argues that students must be active in order to make meaning.

• A. True
• B. Not necessary
• C. Sometimes
• D. False

Answer: (A)

Meaning is built through active engagement between the reader and the text. Rosenblatt describes reading as a transaction in which the reader brings purpose, prior knowledge, and imagination to interpret what’s on the page. Because of that active participation—asking questions, making connections, and weighing clues—the reader constructs meaning rather than simply receiving it. If reading were passive, the same words wouldn’t yield the same depth of understanding or personal interpretation that Rosenblatt emphasizes. So, this statement is true. For example, a student who connects a character’s decisions to their own experiences is shaping meaning through active involvement with the text.