Discusses one of the perennial challenges of teaching English literature--finding ways to relate it to modern problems and issues and thus make the study accessible to students. Includes an example that relates the themes of "Morte D'Arthur" and "Chariots of Fire" and focuses on the sea imagery in both pieces. (JD)

Recalls the pleasurable activity of listening to poetry read by a teacher in fifth grade--poems by Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Carl Sandburg. Relates that poetry books were in the school library and that the students wrote their own poems. Finds that, 18 years later, teaching begins each day in middle school with poetry. (PA)

Discusses an English teacher's approaches to introducing English-as-a-second-language students to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Notes that the students responded with more enthusiasm than they had to any other selection they had read, and that the teacher had underestimated her students' ability to understand Shakespeare. (RS)

Notes that it is usual in Australia for drama as a learning activity to follow reading of the text. Provides examples of how process drama methodology was used as a teaching and learning activity during the reading of a young adult novel. Provides the students' perspective of why and how drama engaged them in a critical interpretative reading of…

Argues that the most important thing that teachers can teach their students about writing letters is to write in a way that reflects the writer's personality, ideas, and visions. Notes that student letter writers should also practice thoughtfulness and good manners. (RS)

Asserts that the most important part of the research process occurs before formal research writing begins, when students engage in expressive, genuine communication. Describes several activities that promote meaningful responses to literature as a prelude to researching an American literary work. (MM)

Identifies eight resources that help educators extend and enrich the literacy experiences of students through the weaving of drama, music, and the visual arts into responses to literature, writing, and other areas of the curriculum. (RS)

Claims that the insights of reader response theory can be brought into the teaching of poetry in college literature courses. Outlines methods for utilizing reader response techniques to help students enjoy and understand poetry. (HB)

Considers the significant processes shared by the acts of reading and writing. Argues for the use of literary response to enhance the productivity of the reading-writing connections. Discusses literary reading and response and their potential pedagogical value in reading-writing activities. (HB)

Offers an overview of contrasts and similarities in various approaches to Shakespeare studies. Discusses how a shift in perspectives from grappling with tragic moral themes to examining aesthetic and semantic complexity represents a productive way to respond to Shakespeare. (NH)

Argues that elementary language-arts teachers should expand their definition of "text" to include film, a valuable instructional material. Notes that today's elementary students come to class with a great deal of knowledge about films--prior experiences which teachers can tap into. Discusses the application to film of reader-response theories. (SR)

Presents a teaching method that provides students with the necessary tools to analyze college-level poetry. Suggests that because reader response has greatly overplayed its corrective to "New Criticism," the HEI (Hypothesis-Experiment-Instruction) method of teaching literature could serve as a third choice among teachers interested in avoiding the…

Focuses on the use of writing frames in a secondary school in order to raise the achievement of boys in GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) English Literature. Discusses the inadequacies of some earlier frames before outlining a new departmental approach. Analyses examples of boys' work to show what a difference the frame made. (SG)

The peer-group method of composition instruction represents the quintessence of the "environmental" mode of teaching which brings teacher, student, and materials more nearly into balance. Responding to recent criticisms of peer-response groups, a model was developed to establish a middle course, balancing (1) philosophical stances; (2)…

Explains how analogies teach students to read critically as well as independently. Presents examples of student-written analogies, and notes that this exercise gives students confidence in their powers of literary interpretation. (MM)