To help improve students' ability to interpret and write about literature, teachers should get rid of old habits. The old habits include giving quizzes to make sure students read assignments, and assigning readings just because particular works are part the literary canon. Once a teacher assigns a novel and gives a quiz, everything the teacher and…

Case studies can be a powerful strategy to use for helping students learn critical thinking processes that are key to interpreting and responding to literature and writing. Some of the major benefits of applying case methods are: cases provide an environment for active learning; they encourage the creation of a community of learners; cases help…

Suggesting that literature dealing with the Vietnam War can have a dramatic impact on students, this paper assists teachers in selecting young adult literature on the war, discusses a variety of assignments, and presents student responses to the literature. The paper begins with a discussion of the three main types of young adult literature:…