This study attempts to reliably measure literature reading and creative writing ability, and subsequently to determine whether a relationship exists between the two abilities. Participants were 19 eleventh-grade students: 11 were known to be good readers of literature, whereas 8 were known to be poor readers of literature. Each participant read 4…

Assuming that readers' emotional responses can enhance readers' metacognitive experiences and inform literary analysis, this study of 11th-grade poetry readers features instruction that models both cognitive and affective reading processes. The author: (1) Presents a case for more explicit attention to emotion in language arts classrooms; (2)…

This unique set of multimedia resources for middle and high school teachers of history, literature, social studies, and the arts, provides background, lessons, and ideas for studying and discussing the book "The Children of Willesden Lane" (2002). This book is based on the true story of Lisa Jura, a young girl who escaped Nazi persecution, as told…

To encourage creative thinking, high school teacher Kelly Courtney-Smith asked her students for creative responses to Hesse's novel, using a technique she learned from coauthor Michael Angelotti. Students painted or wrote poems interpreting their reading, then responded to the creations of their classmates. The students found that these…

This paper examines the debate about the English literature canon in schools. It evaluates the importance of the canon in a 21st-century curriculum and considers its relevance to adolescent readers saturated in early 21st-century culture who have disparate identities and diverse backgrounds. The implications for teaching and learning of the…

This document is a compilation of the four issues in the 23rd volume of "Classroom Notes Plus." Each issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. The August 2005 (v23 n1) issue includes: Sharing Responses to Literature via Exit Slips (Barb Wagner); Letting Learners Teach…