151
Critical reading through the stories of
Gabriel García Márquez
Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis1
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez2
To reference this article /Cómo citar este artículo / Para
citar este artigo: Aramendiz-Tatis, Y., & Márquez-Rodríguez, L.
L. (2025). Critical reading through the stories of Gabriel García
Márquez Revista UNIMAR, 43(1), 151-163. https://doi.org/10.31948/
ru.v43i1.4170
Reception date: May 22, 2024
Review date: September 5, 2024
Approval date: 2anuary 29, 2025
Abstract
The article presents the results of research aimed at strengthening the critical
reading of tenth-grade students through the stories of Gabriel García Márquez.
The study was framed in the sociocritical paradigm, with a qualitative approach,
supported by pedagogical action research, developed in three phases:
deconstruction, reconstruction, and evaluation of the reconstructed practice.
The sample consisted of 20 tenth-grade students. The results showed that, with
the research teacher’s support and their peers’ collaboration, they gradually
overcame the initial difficulties and progressed towards critical reading. The
workshops were designed based on the stories of Gabriel García Márquez and
the constant evaluation in each activity demonstrated the effectiveness of
the strategy implemented. Through frequent reading, students recognized its
importance, showed interest in learning, questioned ideas, identified implicit
information, analyzed and understood texts, expressed informed opinions, and
communicated their ideas effectively, strengthening their critical reading skills.
Keywords: reading; story; critical thinking; skill; text comprehension; cognitive
process; integration; assessment
1 Universidad Popular del Cesar; Institución Educativa Alfonso López Pumarejo.
2 Institución Educativa Alfonso López Pumarejo Cesar, Colombia.
Article result of the research entitled: Fortalecimiento de la lectura crítica por medio de los cuentos de Gabriel García Márquez en
estudiantes del décimo grado de la Institución Educativa Alfonso López Pumarejo de Valledupar, Cesar, developed from August 8,
2023 to October 6, 2023, in the department of Cesar, Colombia.
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2025
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
152
Lectura crítica mediante los cuentos de
Gabriel García Márquez
Resumen
En este artículo se presenta los resultados de una investigación cuyo objetivo
fue fortalecer la lectura crítica en estudiantes de décimo grado a través de
cuentos de Gabriel García Márquez. El estudio se enmarcó en el paradigma
sociocrítico, con un enfoque cualitativo, sustentado en la investigación acción
pedagógica, y se desarrolló en tres fases: deconstrucción, reconstrucción
y evaluación de la práctica reconstruida. La muestra estuvo conformada por
veinte estudiantes de grado décimo. Los resultados señalaron que, con el
apoyo de la docente investigadora y la cooperación entre pares, los estudiantes
superaron progresivamente las dificultades iniciales y avanzaron hacia el
logro de una lectura crítica. los talleres diseñados a partir de los cuentos de
Gabriel García Márquez, junto con la evaluación constante en cada actividad,
demostraron la efectividad de la estrategia implementada. Mediante la lectura
frecuente, los estudiantes reconocieron su importancia, mostraron interés en el
aprendizaje, cuestionaron ideas, identificaron información implícita, analizaron
y comprendieron los textos, emitieron opiniones fundamentadas y comunicaron
sus ideas de manera efectiva, fortaleciendo su capacidad de lectura crítica.
Palabras clave: lectura; cuento; pensamiento crítico; habilidad; comprensión
del texto; proceso cognitivo; integración; valoración
Leitura crítica através dos contos de
Gabriel García Márquez
Resumo
Apresenta os resultados de um projeto de pesquisa que visa fortalecer as
habilidades de leitura crítica em alunos do décimo ano por meio das histórias de
Gabriel García Márquez. O estudo foi enquadrado no paradigma sociocrítico, com
abordagem qualitativa, apoiado pela pesquisa-ação pedagógica, desenvolvida
em três fases: desconstrução, reconstrução e avaliação da prática reconstruída.
A amostra consistiu de vinte alunos do décimo ano. Os resultados indicaram
que, com o apoio da professora pesquisadora e colaboração dos colegas, os
alunos superaram gradualmente as dificuldades iniciais e progrediram em
direção à leitura crítica. Os workshops projetados em torno das histórias
de Gabriel García Márquez, juntamente com a avaliação constante em cada
atividade, demonstraram a eficácia da estratégia implementada. Por meio da
leitura frequente, os alunos reconheceram a importância da leitura, mostraram
interesse em aprender, questionaram ideias, identificaram informações implícitas,
analisaram e compreenderam textos, expressaram opiniões informadas e
comunicaram suas ideias de forma eficaz, fortalecendo suas habilidades de
leitura crítica.
Palavras-chave: leitura; conto; pensamento crítico; habilidade; compreensão
de texto; processo cognitivo; integração; avaliação
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2025
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
Critical reading through the stories of Gabriel García Márquez
153
Revista Unimar Enero-Junio 2025
e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
Introduction
Reading, as a complex human activity, is an
aspect that involves a variety of elements; among
them, comprehension, analysis, and synthesis;
it is also considered a superior operation of
thinking. For this reason, from antiquity to the
present day, its fundamental action has been
rethought in the educational field, where it is
increasingly required, as well as the different
methodologies that have been implemented to
awaken the habit of reading in the student. In
this regard, Acuña and López (2017, cited in
Morales, 2020) point out that reading is:
Understand, analyze, and critically
comprehend information through cognitive
processes that allow the reader to identify
purposes, viewpoints, assumptions,
implications and consequences, data,
interpretations and inferences, and concepts
from which to construct the world. (pp. 64-
65)
In this process, reading comprehension
plays a predominant role. Cassany (2019)
distinguishes three concepts that encompass
the interdependent processes in the acquisition
of meaning: linguistic, psycholinguistic, and
sociocultural. These elements combine to give
meaning to written texts in the different contexts
in which individuals develop as social beings.
According to Benavides and Sierra (2018, cited
in Brito, 2020):
Understanding texts as a cognitive process
emphasizes the role of progress in the
three levels of comprehension: literal,
inferential, and critical. The basic skills of
critical reading are developed: interpretation
(main idea and inferences); organization
(summarizing, generalizing); and evaluation
(causal relationships, true or false, author’s
argument). (Para. 30)
Despite the changes made by the Ministry of
National Education, there are still disturbances
in the critical reading of students, which affects
their performance and learning. Therefore, it is
necessary to improve their sense of criticality
and intellectual quality, which promises linguistic
and innovative skills that link knowledge, being,
and doing, in addition to promoting encounters
where they can resolve situations through
argumentation and where their thinking is open
to imagination and reflection.
Authors such as Avendaño (2016), Pernía and
Méndez (2018) and Brito (2020) state that despite
these changes in the educational system, in the
classroom, not only in the field of language, but
also in other areas of knowledge, the difficulties
that many students face in the critical reading
of texts are still evident and, as a result, they
are indifferent to reading; they do it to fulfill an
obligation or to complete a task, but it is clear
that they find it boring.
The above suggests that students are unable or
afraid to take a critical position on the content
of the text or the author’s approach. There are
many reasons for this problem, including poor
reading habits, limited access to libraries, lack
of books or works to read at home, illiterate
parents, or those with little time to encourage
their children to read.
The researchers found that tenth-grade
students in secondary education lacked the skills
necessary to achieve the language proficiency
required for their academic level. There is
evidence of a lack of comprehension, analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation of the texts they
read, basic skills that influence their learning
when solving problems, conducting research,
and inferring information in narrative texts.
These skills are essential for processes such
as comprehending, interpreting, and evaluating
texts, as well as for adopting a critical stance
toward reading.
Another relevant aspect is the role of the
teacher in mediating learning. It has been
observed that in many cases tasks are designed
without promoting motivation for reading
comprehension, which prevents the connection
with topics relevant to the student’s reality. The
lack of strategies that stimulate imagination,
creativity, and contextualization hinders the
development of critical thinking in the learning
process. In this sense, it is essential to implement
approaches that reinforce learning and promote
the development of the skills necessary for this
level of education.
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Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
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e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
Consequently, Gabriel García Márquez’s stories
were used as a tactic to achieve meaningful
learning in a collective, group, and individual
way. In this sense, competencies and content
were integrated so that the student could
understand the local units of meaning through
the text, integrate this information to give a
global meaning to the text and take a critical
stance. It should be noted that these were
selected for their content since the aim was to
promote meaningful reading that would allow
the understanding of situations, and contexts,
the transformation of information, and above
all, the development of critical thinking.
The reading of Gabriel García Márquez’s stories
used as a mediating resource, contributes to
significant learning that will affect the 20 tenth-
grade students. From a theoretical point of view,
the study allows us to understand and develop
critical reading based on these stories, which
will affect cognitive processes and reading
comprehension, thus promoting critical thinking.
The contributions of different theorists support
the research, and the results derived from this
study could serve as a basis for future research
in which the literary narrative is considered
a resource for reflective teaching. This is
especially important at the secondary level
when students are preparing for new challenges
in higher education.
The study seeks to establish itself as a
methodological contribution based on the
principles of Pedagogical Action Research (PAR),
to transform pedagogical practice through the
participation of educational actors, with the
aim of understanding, proposing and improving
pedagogical practices. Therefore, the research
is based on the contributions of Rodríguez
(2021), Piña-Ferrer (2023), Polanía et al. (2020),
Restrepo (2002), Caminotti and Toppi (2020),
Jara (2018), Luna-Gijón et al. (2022), among
others, whose postulates guide the study
from a methodological perspective (following
the phases proposed by PAR) and from a
theoretical and practical approach. This makes
it possible to influence the transformation of
educational practices, especially in the use of
didactic strategies for teaching mathematics
with the support of social networks. In turn, it
will contribute to the improvement of students’
academic performance and their performance
in standardized tests.
In the social sphere, the research aims to create
spaces for reflecting on the pedagogical practice
of teachers, to reconstruct their practice and be
able to implement the story in the training of
students and develop a critical attitude based
on approaching the literary work, seeking the
critical and argued expression of interpretations
that address cultural, social, ethical, affective
and ideological aspects of everyday information.
Therefore, the following research question
was posed: How do Gabriel García Márquez’s
stories contribute to strengthening the critical
reading of tenth-grade students? To answer
this question, the following general objective
was raised: to strengthen the critical reading
of tenth-grade students through Gabriel García
Márquez’s stories, which was operationalized
through specific objectives, namely: 1) to
identify the difficulties present in tenth-grade
students about critical reading; 2) to design
reading workshops through Gabriel García
Márquez’s stories to strengthen critical reading;
3) to implement workshops with Gabriel
García Márquez’s stories to strengthen critical
reading and, 4) to evaluate the results of the
implementation of the workshops.
In this context, based on the general vision of
the problem and the final objective, research
was carried out to know the real panorama of
the categories in different contexts. Thus, at
the international level, the study carried out by
Morales (2020) was considered, who points out
that the objective of the university should be
to teach how to learn and try to help students
achieve intellectual autonomy; for this, teachers
must implement specific strategies, among
which reading stands out as a key procedure to
promote learning, promoting the development
of critical thinking.
Morales (2020) highlights the importance of
motivation in achieving reading acquisition
as an intellectual process that provides
reflective reasoning with complex theoretical
foundations, diverse content, and new ideas in
the process of understanding and solidifying the
world. Therefore, he carried out pedagogical
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e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
interventions adapted to the interests of the
students, stimulating their participation and
effective interaction with discursive genres,
their characteristics and conventions, along the
themes of their discipline.
He concludes that his study helped students
use critical thinking skills to identify implicit
positions and underlying approaches in reading,
acquire meaningful learning across curricular
areas, and thus address intellectual autonomy
as students face the challenges of the dizzying
changes in today’s world.
At the national level, Bolaño and Fontalvo
(2021) conducted a study whose purpose
was to analyze the tensions and challenges in
developing general critical reading skills based
on classroom management at the university,
using a mixed research approach and sequential
design. Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of
general critical reading skills at the university
indicated sufficient intention; however, from
the students’ point of view, this description
revealed opportunities for improvement.
Therefore, in this study, teachers need to
strengthen their understanding of methods,
strategies, techniques, reading levels, and
types of texts to manage academic subjects
related to critical reading.
The study’s contribution lies in the fact that
it reveals a perspective of improvement in
students’ critical reading, linking it to other
subjects; on the other hand, in teachers, the
recognition of methods and strategies that
guide critical reading is presented. Significantly,
the process of understanding other subjects
begins thanks to reading, where motivation and
pedagogy play a fundamental role.
In the regional context, Villareal and Jiménez
(2020) conducted a study whose objective was
to promote critical reading through the fable as
a teaching strategy in fourth-grade students.
Methodologically, the research was framed in the
postpositivist paradigm, under the pedagogical
action research method. Its design was
implemented in three phases: deconstruction
of the pedagogical practice, reconstruction,
and evaluation of the practical activity. The
designed teaching strategy included reading
workshops; this was applied on four occasions,
which increased the complexity of reading up to
the level of critical reading. The results showed
an interest in reading at its three levels: literal,
inferential, and, above all, critical-analytical,
reflected in the identification of main ideas, and
characters, inferring relationships, as well as in
taking a position and questioning the message
of the moral of the fable. The application of
the teaching strategy based on this literary
genre helped the students to develop levels
of complex reading comprehension, such as
critical reading, accompanied by values such
as respect, mutual support, and responsibility.
This research is relevant to the present study
because it used narrative texts as a teaching
strategy for students’ reading comprehension.
The nature of the research of the study
provided ideas for the application of the phases
of pedagogical action research following the
objectives and recording the experiences of the
intervention.
When dealing with the categories of the study,
critical reading, for the authors consulted, means
understanding what has been read, analyzing the
content to verify successes, errors, and the way
the information is presented; that is, testing their
framework of ideas and arguments concerning
a context, tradition, or genre in which they are
inscribed; in addition, providing elements for
a complete and complex understanding of the
text (Cassany, 2019; Colombian Institute for the
Evaluation of Education [ICFES], 2018; Arias,
2020; Jurado, 2016). Regarding the narrative,
authors such as Jurado and Herrera (2022) and
Rocha and Rocha (2023).
Methodology
The research was framed within the socio-critical
paradigm, which, according to Rodríguez (2021),
provides social and pedagogical responses
and allows us to identify the social processes,
interests, and practices that structure society,
denaturalizing previous conceptions and values.
Likewise, the qualitative approach was adopted,
since cultural processes were addressed from
a subjective perspective, through which an
attempt was made to understand and interpret
all human actions, experiences, and feelings to
create ways of being (Piña-Ferrer, 2023).
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Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
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e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
The study was also framed within the
framework of PAR since it was necessary to
know the continuous structure of each teacher’s
practice and its theoretical roots to identify it
and subject it to criticism and improvement.
The structure of practice consists of ideas
(theory), tools (methods and techniques), and
rituals (customs, routines, demands, habits),
all of which are susceptible to deconstruction
(Polanía et al., 2020).
The research was developed in three stages. The
first, deconstruction, refers to the diagnosis,
considered as a procedure that transcends
criticism itself since it goes beyond the self-
examination of the practice. The second is
the reconstruction of the practice, through
the application of strategies, after designing
a proposal that aims to be more effective for
educational transformation. The third is the
validation of the effectiveness of the practice,
where the analysis of the results is carried out
to complete the evaluation phase (Restrepo,
2002). The work unit was made up of twenty
students, whose ages ranged between 16 and
18 years.
The collection of data was defined as a
precondition for the acquisition of scientific
knowledge; therefore, the instruments were
aimed at creating the conditions to abstract
from the real world and from the sensory
(perceptible by the senses), the information
that would provide answers to the objectives
set (Caminotti & Toppi, 2020).
The techniques applied were in line with the
objectives and phases of the action research.
Therefore, in the first phase, a written test was
applied; in the second phase, systematization
was carried out because, according to Jara
(2018),it seeks to produce a reading that
goes beyond the stories of its actors, which
underpinned the theoretical bases captured in
the field diaries. For Luna-Gijón et al. (2022),
it is a training tool that allows students to
learn significantly about information design;
in addition to promoting reflection, it makes
visible the work and thinking process of the
design processes they follow, records the
emotions that intervene in the creation of the
projects and contributes to the formation of
information design thinking.
The third phase was evaluation, which
was carried out during the implementation
process by developing the skills of analysis,
identifying causal relationships, synthesis, and
argumentation in the presentation of texts
to question the author’s ideas, giving new
meanings to reading and relating the meanings
of reading to everyday events. The evaluation
showed that the participants strengthened
their critical reading skills.
Results
The results of the diagnostic test confirmed
that the students had problems identifying the
characteristics of the main characters in the
text, understanding the author’s argument,
interpreting the information, identifying the
central idea, understanding the meaning of
the author’s argument, making inferences,
connecting elements into a whole, relating
sequences between parts of the text,
understanding, expressing opinions, and
expressing ideas about the reading.
Consequently, these results indicated the need
to find a strategy that would transform students’
critical reading problems. A theoretical review
of previous research on the topic under study
was carried out. Based on these findings, the
researchers planned a strategy based on the
selection of eight stories from the work Doce
cuentos peregrinos by the Colombian author
Gabriel García Márquez.
Once the proposal, consisting of eight workshops,
was designed, it was implemented. To ensure its
effectiveness, the process to be followed was
explained to the students and informed consent
was obtained, as well as the authorization of
parents and caregivers. In the planning stage,
eight stories from the work were selected
around which specific activities were designed
in line with the objectives of the research.
Workshop 1 focused on the biography of Gabriel
García Márquez, to understand his career
and personality. During a 90-minute session,
students were encouraged to get to know the
author, interpret the underlying message in
his texts, and formulate conclusions based on
arguments.
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e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
After this introduction, the students began to
study his literary work, which was a motivating
element for them. During the activity, they
read and wrote about the aspects of his life
that they considered most relevant, and they
commented among themselves on the number
of works published and the awards received by
the author.
In Workshop 2, based on the story Buen viaje,
señor presidente, the teacher-researchers
began reading aloud and invited the students
to continue. There was a high level of interest
and excitement to participate. A video related
to the story was then shown, during which an
atmosphere of silence and concentration was
observed.
At the end of the screening, the students were
asked to carry out the proposed activities.
However, the process was slow because they
had difficulty answering the questions, which
led them to seek guidance from the research
teachers until they completed the task. Despite
these challenges, the students were able to
identify the main ideas of the text, interpret
information through images, and organize their
ideas.
In Workshop 3, based on the story La santa,
the session began with a word game as an
icebreaker that caught the students’ attention.
With the voluntary participation of one of them,
the reading began, which was continued in two
voices and later as a group.
Students were then invited to listen to the
audiobook, followed by a guided analysis through
questions designed to encourage reflection. This
activity showed greater participation as students
asked questions without fear and completed
the assigned tasks. Their ability to identify and
characterize the abstract information in the text
was observed, as well as their ability to write
their own story.
Throughout the process, students commented
on their writing, organized ideas, discussed
readings, interpreted arguments, identified
cause-and-effect relationships, and distinguished
between main and supporting ideas.
In Workshop 4, based on the story El avión de
la bella durmiente, the activity was carried out
through individual reading. Students had the
opportunity to look up unknown words in the
dictionary, which facilitated their understanding
of the text. To reinforce this process, they did a
second reading in a group and later they were
shown the audio-video of the story.
At the end of the screening, questions were
asked to assess comprehension and critical
analysis of the story. Although the students’
progress in critical reading was evident, more
practice is needed for everyone to master this
level of reading. Only a group of ten students
were able to identify semantic and formal
relationships in the text, interpret the author’s
argument, summarize content, identify central
ideas, appreciate the importance of reading,
and expand their vocabulary.
The remaining ten students did not develop
the skills necessary to become critical readers.
However, they showed interest and, with the
support of their peers and research teachers,
managed to complete the assigned activities.
In Workshop 5, based on the story Me alquilo
para soñar, the teachers started the session with
questions related to the title of the story, which
allowed the students to express their ideas and
expectations about the reading. Afterward, the
group reading took place, alternating between
the oral and individual reading modes. Then the
video of the story was projected to complement
the experience.
At the end of the reading, students were asked a
series of questions to assess their understanding
of the text. It was evident that they were
able to relate the information in the story to
previous knowledge and personal experiences;
they characterized the narrative voices through
a brief simulation and demonstrated greater
cognitive maturity by making inferences with
less difficulty.
They also identified the discursive strategies used
by the author, improved their communication
skills, and wrote their own story with a critical
approach.
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e-ISSN: 2216-0116 ISSN: 0120-4327 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.unimar
Rev. Unimar Vol. 43 No. 1 pp. 151-163
Workshop 6, based on the story Sólo vine a
hablar por teléfono, provided a new opportunity
for students to strengthen critical reading skills
that had been challenging at the beginning of
the process. To motivate their participation, the
session began with a musical activity in which
they sang a song to promote group integration
before beginning the reading.
First, the reading was done individually and then
as a group. In the end, they were presented
with a series of questions about the content of
the story to guide their analysis and reflection.
A remarkable interest in learning was evident,
especially in the group of ten students who had
not yet fully developed critical reading skills.
They were able to relate sequences within
the text, distinguish between what was true
and what was fictional, interpret the reading,
question the author’s ideas, and respond
confidently to the questions posed. They also
identified explicit information, understood the
meaning of keywords and main ideas, and wrote
new stories based on the story.
In Workshop 7, which was based on the story
Espantos de agosto, the students expressed
their joy at their progress in developing
critical reading skills. With this characteristic
dynamism, they were invited to enter the new
work session where the story was presented,
whose images motivated them to participate
and read it individually.
Through the assigned activities, students
demonstrated their ability to make inferences
by identifying and contextualizing the ideas
presented by the author. They also identified
the structure of the story ―introduction,
development, and conclusion― and established
relationships between discursive strategies and
specific sociocultural contexts.
In addition, they analyzed the type of language
used by the author, shared comments about the
reading, and wrote new stories expressing their
opinions about the arguments in the text.
Workshop 8, which focused on the story of
Maria dos Prazeres, began with a silent reading
of the story, followed by the showing of the
corresponding video. During this activity, the
students showed a high level of concentration.
Through the activities designed to assess the
achievement of the objectives, it was found that
the students were able to identify the semantic
and formal relationships within the structure
of the story. They also made connections
between the content of the story and their daily
experiences, expanded their vocabulary with
new words, strengthened their communication
skills, and proposed coherent changes to the
stor y.
They also reaffirmed the importance of the act
of reading, located explicit information in the
text, established logical relationships between
premises and arguments, and improved their
communication skills. With these advances, it
can be said that critical reading has begun to
consolidate among tenth-grade students.
Workshop 9, based on the story Diecisiete
ingleses envenenados, was a source of great
joy and satisfaction for the students and
researchers, thanks to the progress made
with García Márquez’s stories. This time, as a
closing activity, the day was dedicated to the
title of the story; the silent reading to discover
the evolution of the work caused concern and
curiosity among the students, who concentrated
on learning about the world in which the events
took place.
This interest led the participants to consolidate
themselves as critical readers, which was
evident in the development of the activities
designed to assess their learning. The students
completed the tasks with ease, worked
confidently, analyzed the texts, synthesized
the content, summarized and generalized
information, identified central ideas, integrated
elements into a whole, expanded their
vocabulary through the use of the dictionary,
formulated conclusions, and organized and
expressed ideas coherently.
As a result of this progress, the researchers
were able to determine the effectiveness of the
workshops and the progress of the participants
in the strengthening of critical reading skills.
In the evaluation of the results obtained in the
implementation of the workshops based on the
stories of Gabriel García Márquez, it was found
that the students, with the initial support of the
Critical reading through the stories of Gabriel García Márquez
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Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
research teachers and the collaboration among
peers, gradually overcame their difficulties and
advanced in the development of critical reading.
Throughout the process, they identified the main
ideas in the texts, interpreted information from
images, organized ideas, characterized abstract
information, constructed stories, captured the
meaning of arguments, recognized cause-and-
effect relationships, distinguished main ideas
from secondary ideas, and established semantic
or formal relationships in the texts.
Students were also able to synthesize content,
understand the importance of reading, expand
their vocabulary, relate explicit and implicit
information, characterize narrative voices,
make inferences, identify discursive strategies
used by the author, and improve their
communication skills. In addition, they showed
interest in learning, established sequences
between parts of the text, distinguished
between true and false statements, interpreted
the reading critically, questioned the author’s
ideas, responded assertively to questions
posed, located specific information, and wrote
new stories. Finally, they instituted logical
relationships between premises and arguments,
thereby strengthening their reading skills.
With these achievements, it can be said that
the students have reached the level of critical
readers. It should be noted that the evaluative
observations, progress, and results of each of
the workshops were duly recorded in the field
diary.
Discussion
Following the results, the discussion was based
on the data collected in the data collection
process through a diagnostic test and records in
field diaries, as well as the documentary review
or previous studies. In the examination of the
data, analyzed and systematized in the light of
the question that guided the research, the first
action was to apply a diagnostic test and then a
bibliographic review, actions that produced the
results described below.
The results of the diagnostic test indicated
that the students had difficulty identifying
the characteristics of the main characters in
the story, understanding the author’s point,
interpreting the information, identifying the
central idea, making inferences, connecting
elements to form a whole, relating sequences
between parts of the text, understanding,
expressing opinions, expressing ideas about
reading, and analyzing the information. Based
on these results, a strategy was developed to
alleviate this problem.
These results differ from the approach of
Campos (as cited in Avendaño, 2016), who states
that it is necessary to refer to critical thinking to
understand critical reading, understood as «the
deliberate and self-regulated judgment that
results from the analysis, synthesis, evaluation,
inference, and explanation of conceptual,
methodological, and contextual considerations;
it is an indispensable process in research
practice» (p. 213). The author adds that critical
reading results from the intellectual exercise of
drawing simple or complex conclusions.
For Benavides and Sierra (2013), the act of
reading is a cognitive process that highlights the
development of three levels of comprehension:
literal, inferential, and critical. Each level, in
turn, develops three basic skills: interpretation,
to form an opinion, identify a central idea, and
draw conclusions; organization, to establish
sequences in the text, summarize, and
generalize; and finally, evaluation, to identify
causal relationships, distinguish what is true
from what is false, and understand the meaning
of the author’s arguments.
For his part, Cassany (2017) states that to reach
the critical level of reading, it is necessary to
understand the text, that is, to synthesize the
content, to separate the main ideas from the
secondary ones, and the author’s evaluation
concerning a proven fact. It is also important to
find another bibliography or source that deals
with the same topic, to make a comparison
between the data and the arguments described
in these different treatments. Arias (2020) adds
that critical reading then involves understanding
different modes of interpretation; that is,
considering the different meanings hidden in
the text. From these conceptions, the reader will
delve into the text, revealing his critical thinking
process, and trying to associate and reflect the
message that the author wants to convey.
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Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
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The idea of designing and implementing
workshops based on the stories of Gabriel García
Márquez to strengthen the critical reading skills
of tenth-grade students was based on the
aforementioned assertions about the elements
involved in critical reading and on the results
of the diagnostic assessment that revealed the
students’ critical reading problems. This action
was supported by the assumptions of Rocha and
Rocha (2023), who state that literary stories are
narratives constructed with a specific intention
and that, in addition, they are the product of
rigorous work by the author, capable of creating
a story with a precise atmosphere that generates
emotions in an explicit audience.
For De Santos et al. (2020), a literary short
story is a brief and simple narrative based on
imaginary events that are constructed and
disseminated through writing. Its purpose is to
entertain the lyrical reader and, at the same
time, to convey a moral and ethical message
that can generate change and learning. It has a
unilateral structure, a distinctive element that
distinguishes it from the novel; the simplicity
of its forms and the directness and speed of its
message make it one of the most addressed
literary genres. This definition constitutes
important elements to be applied in the
educational field, intending to generate the
pleasurable habit of reading, thus strengthening
all levels, especially the critical one.
These actions are related to the research of
Suárez et al. (2020), who concluded that the use
of critical reading is a prior and indispensable
condition for the achievement of complex
competencies such as research, and therefore
requires interdisciplinary, methodological,
systematic, and unified work in teaching. In
the same order, there are similarities with what
Bolaño and Fontalvo (2021) proposed regarding
the perspective of improving students’ critical
reading and associating it with other subjects
and the recognition of methods and strategies
to guide critical reading by teachers.
Likewise, the contributions of Brito (2020), were
considered, who in the final reflections highlights
the need to generate teaching resources with
specific characteristics to develop skills such as
reading comprehension and stimulate critical
and reflective thinking in students. Added to
this is the work of Vargas and Quiñones (2019),
who conducted a series of workshops based on
stories by Colombian authors to help students
identify their reading level and improve their
reading comprehension.
The design of the strategy was based on what
Reynosa et al. (2020) stated: «Instructional
strategies stimulate learning because they
also arouse a concern for knowledge, so they
become a key transversal factor in knowledge
construction processes» (p. 265).
Conclusions
Regarding the first objective, the results of
the diagnostic test showed that the students
had various difficulties, including the inability
to identify the characteristics that define the
characters in the text, difficulty understanding
the author’s argument, interpreting the
information presented, identifying the central
idea, grasping the meaning of the arguments,
making inferences, establishing relationships
between different parts of the text, and
expressing opinions about the reading. Limited
ability to analyze information and organize ideas
coherently was also observed.
Concerning the second objective, the theoretical
review allowed us to select the work Doce
cuentos peregrinos by Gabriel García Márquez.
From this collection, eight stories were selected
for their ability to motivate and interest the
students in the learning process, which were
addressed in each of the workshops.
Regarding the third objective, the analysis of
the results showed that the students initially
struggled to complete the activities proposed
in each workshop. However, through peer
collaboration and the intervention of the
researchers, they gradually achieved greater
autonomy in carrying out the activities. With
enthusiasm, determination, and dedication, they
were able to interpret, analyze, and synthesize
ideas, question the author’s arguments, and
establish semantic relationships, which allowed
them to develop critical reading skills.
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Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez
Finally, about the fourth objective, the use of
dynamic strategies and continuous assessment
in each activity demonstrated the positive impact
of the proposal. Through frequent reading,
students were able to discover the importance
of reading habits, demonstrate an interest
in learning, question ideas, locate implicit
information, analyze and better understand
texts, develop critical skills, and communicate
their ideas with greater clarity and precision.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there are no financial,
personal, intellectual, racial, religious, or other
conflicts of interest that might affect the
reliability of this paper.
Ethical Responsibilities
For the development of the research, an informed
consent form was signed and submitted to the
institution’s principal’s office to obtain approval
for the implementation of the instruments and
strategy. Parental consent was also obtained for
student participation in the study.
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Contribution
Yelitsa Aramendiz Tatis: Principal investigator.
She prepared the introduction, statistical data
processing, materials and methods, results
collection, conclusions, and references.
Leiden Liseth Márquez Rodríguez: Review
of the introduction, statistical data processing,
writing of materials and methods, obtaining
results, conclusions, and references.
The authors participated in the preparation of
the manuscript, read it, and approved it.
