Leitura de textos argumentativos opinativos: a contribuição de uma coleção didática para a formação de um leitor crítico

Abstract

This paper explores the existence of argumentative-type texts in high school textbooks, used by students in the state public school system in Minas Gerais. The study specifically looks at the area of Text production of argumentative-type opinion texts, with a view to determining how these materials develop textual comprehension. For this purpose, we analyzed two editions of the collection Português Linguagens, by Willian Roberto Cereja and Thereza Cochar Magalhães, approved by PNLD 2009 and 2012. We sought to find in these volumes actual progress in this area, using the most recent versions of these texts. The overall aim of this study, therefore, is to determine the contribution of interpretation and comprehension questions in textbook activities toward the development of critical thinking in the student who is finishing high school. Thus, we aimed to determine: what contribution could a textbook collection have toward the development of critical readers in high school? And, in this same vain, to what extent do the texts in this collection participate in the development of this reader? What is the role of the collections reading activities in the development of the critical-thinker who is finishing high school? For this analysis, we used the parameters utilized by Antunes (2010) in the analysis of texts and, in the analysis of comprehension activities of the text types selected for the corpus of this study, we followed her principles and experiences. We verified in the analysis that, in both textbook editions studied, teaching is structured using types of texts in different topical areas and that reading is central to all three areas of teaching: Literature, Text production and Language: reflection and use. With respect to the use of these types of texts, it can be noted that there is still a preoccupation with presenting them in a standard format, rather than as a social event or something real that can be used to meet the needs of the reader. In terms of activities, as the majority are still quite detailed and contextualized, they make it possible for the reader to understand the text and to read it with a more critical view. This paper is organized into six chapters. The first the introduction addresses the question/problem and its origin. The second looks at the essential theoretical foundation of the contributions of this study. The third presents the methodology that oriented the study. The data obtained and the results of the investigation comprise the fourth and fifth chapters. Lastly, there are the final considerations. We hope that this study will be an instrument of reflection for future studies.