Leggere la mente, per leggere il testo. Il ruolo della Teoria della Mente nei processi di lettura e comprensione testuale

Abstract

Drawing on a substantial body of neurodidactic research, Theory of Mind (ToM) – defined as the ability to attribute mental states such as beliefs, emotions, and desires to oneself and others – is increasingly recognized as a key cognitive domain in the development of reading literacy and text comprehension skills. This paper offers a theoretical and pedagogical framework for understanding the relationship between ToM and reading literacy in primary education. Based on the developmental model proposed by Atkinson et al. (2018), which highlights a correspondence between the development of mind-reading abilities and the maturation of narrative processing skills, the study seeks to translate this framework into a practical model for second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade classrooms5. In particular, it identifies teaching strategies and assessment practices that may foster the integrated development of reading comprehension and socio-cognitive competencies associated with ToM, including mentalizing, empathy, self-regulation, cooperation, and metacognitive reflection.