Prereading activities, analogous to prewriting activities, can draw on the reader's prior knowledge of the subject and make the student's reading of literature more proficient, raise the comprehension level, and make class discussions more meaningful. Some suggested prereading activities for the literature classroom include (1) making students…

The feature articles in this journal issue deal with various aspects of Canadian literature. The articles include: (1) a discussion of who's who and what's what in Canadian literature; (2) reviews of worthwhile but overlooked Canadian children's literature; (3) a list of resource guides to Canadian literature and a short quiz over famous first…

Noting National Assessment of Educational Progress findings that indicate students have difficulty analyzing literature, this paper presents a model for teaching students the process of reading and responding to literature in an orderly manner. Following an introduction to the problem of literature analysis in the schools, the model is discussed…

Young adult literature is the subject of this journal. The first article, "The Executioner Sings" (Jay Bennett), relates how and why its author writes. The next article, "Cinderella and the Pigman" (Lucy E. Waddey), explains why kids read the works of Judy Blume and Paul Zindel. "An interview with Keven Major" (Mike…

Science fiction offers many perspectives on human communication, including (1) a recurring theme about intrapersonal communication, (2) a nontraditional perspective on "family" communication, and (3) a philosophy of communication that can be drawn from some fantasy literature. Although numerous science fiction stories describe alien creatures who…

This book is a sample of what actually happens when the professional teaching poet sits down with the student poem. It allows the reader to observe the poets in their roles as teachers. The collection of student workshop poems and the teachers' essays about the poems--their analysis, specific criticisms, teaching techniques and procedures--are…

The speech communication department at California State University, Northridge, offers a course entitled, "Rhetoric of Women," that combines a traditional rhetorical criticism approach with recent women's studies research. The course is organized topically, moving from the general to a more specific examination of variables that operate in the…

A series of 13 questions is offered for sequencing student writing activities according to a problem solving model of the composing process. The questions are organized in a cyclical framework for approaching any problem solving task that writing students may face. The questions fall into four progressively developed categories, including…

The author describes how character wheels can be used to produce writing and literary analysis exercises for adolescents. The character wheel describes a character, an object, or a concept six ways: (1) physical description, (2) thoughts, (3) behavior, (4) speech, (5) setting, and (6) reaction of others. (CH)

Suggestions to help social studies teachers use historical fiction and biography to teach critical reading to intermediate grade students are made. For example, teachers should help students to check various sources for the author's qualifications, purpose, and bias and assist students in analyzing language and writing style. (RM)

Shows how students can benefit from expressing their emotional responses to literature in writing. (EL)

Describes a method of teaching Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" to secondary students that involves their reading the text aloud and discussing the responses of modern critics to Chaucer. (AEA)

Describes a method of writing across the curriculum that works and identifies two Spanish-language young adult novels written by Hispanic authors. (HOD)

Analyzes Flannery O'Connor's early short story "The Crop" and relates its thematic struture and characterization to her later work. (RBW)

Suggests that films can enrich students' understanding of the literature on which they are based and can strengthen the same academic competencies students are expected to develop through reading. (MM)