Claims students should be allowed to rank, rerank, and reshuffle thinking and then share their views with class members regarding poetry and poets before formal criticism is thrust upon them, and suggests teachers should be careful not to over-analyze and tell students about a poem's significance. (NH)

Describes a college composition course in which the class read and evaluated newspaper articles from the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" as it critically addressed the operations of subtexts, genres, target readers, and class interests. (JD)

Contributors discuss aspects of occult literature and present varying views on whether it is creative and involving or macabre and satanic. (JD)

Claims that most teachers who read "The Great Gatsby" in high school English courses do not notice the work's extensive use of nautical imagery. Cites examples and claims that close reading reveals Gatsby to be not only the dreamer and unsuccessful suitor but also the American fisherman who "hooks a big one." (JD)

This article reports on the development of a college course that uses feature films as a vehicle to promote a better understanding of human behavior. It includes film titles and descriptions along with questions used for guiding discussions. (JDH)

Suggests humorous ways to generate student interest in literature such as creating advertising campaigns for characters in fiction. (SRT)

Reviews Robert Newton Peck's "A Day No Pigs Would Die," pointing out the values of a courageous display of duty to others and to tasks at hand, and a vision that appreciates the natural order of life. (EL)

Presents a rationale for teaching "Catch-22" in the 1980s. (DF)

Suggests that the theme of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is an oxymoron linking the two apparently contradictory ideas of death and sexual love. (RBW)

Examines how movies have formed history by (1) analyzing theories of history; (2) comparing historical perspectives in certain films; and (3) exploring how film language and techniques reflect history. Focuses on films from the United States, Europe, Japan, or Brazil. (PD)

Outlines a procedure that increases students' understanding of an assigned novel as it encourages them to write poetry. Suggests that students create lists of about 10 words or phrases that they felt helped create a successful opening to the novel and build on these words to create tone poems. (MM)

In this lesson, grade 6-8 students analyze a variety of poets and their poetry by reading and listening to their work. Students then use information gathered from Internet resources to select a favorite poet and perform one of their poems for the class. During the four 30-minute and five 20-minute sessions, students will: analyze a variety of…

As a glossary of basic terms for literature study and interpretation, this book draws on recent developments in literary theory and emphasizes the role of reading practices in the reproduction of literary meanings. As well as introducing new terminology relevant to this emphasis, the glossary reviews many traditional terms, such as…

Defines and describes the fantasizing motif in children's literature and explains how teachers can use this motif to help children learn to live in society. (JL)

Describes how a teacher teaches a Virginia Woolf book at the beginning of a course in women's literature so that it can serve as a touchstone for later reading and writing. (JL)