Urging teachers of poetry writing to better understand themselves as writers and readers, this book "interrogates" a strategy teachers might employ in reading and evaluating student poems. A thoughtful study of a teacher is presented while in the process of evaluating student poetry through the lenses of four different contemporary…

In a composition classroom with a multicultural emphasis, reader response techniques can give students the chance to consider their own positions in the dominant culture, to confront racist attitudes within themselves, and to try to empathize with minority views. These techniques lead to a more student-centered classroom where students not only…

These official scoring guide for reading/literature present details of the 6-point scoring system used in Oregon schools for the 1989-99 and 1999-2000 school years for grades 4-12. They list the attributes of students' responses to merit a score from 1 (lowest) to 6 (highest) in the areas of comprehension, extending understanding, reading…

Designed to help teachers get started using literature circles in their classrooms, this book gives teachers a boost to begin, offers some insights from other teachers, and helps teachers clarify where to go next. It notes that literature circles (or literature study groups, book clubs, or discussion circles) take many forms and engage students in…

Describes three theories supporting reading instruction--schema theory, the constructivist approach, and literary response theory--and offers best classroom practices that support these theories. Provides a sample lesson illustrating possible cross-curricular interactions, also considered a best practice. (EV)

Considers how in this modern world a teacher masters children's literature for the purpose of guiding selection and literary experiences. Presents three vignettes illustrating different uses of literature today. Discusses a workshop, the Children's Choice and the Teacher's Choice projects. (SG)

Discusses a master class (conducted at the annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English) that focuses on supporting student responses to literature within the context of an undergraduate or graduate course in children's literature. Notes that at the conclusion of this successful session, participants generated numerous strategies…

Designed to supplement the actual reading of children's books, this book provides an introduction to children's literature. It focuses on general trends and patterns rather than plot summaries. The two-part organization of the third edition explores first the foundations and contexts, then the various genres of children's literature. Discussion…

This article presents an account of how one teacher and one student work through James Joyce's short story, "Eveline," illustrating an important reconceptualization of literacy--the teacher struggles to make public those aspects of reading which are often only assumed or left covert, namely, entering the world of the text, groping for…

Telling stories from secondary and college English classrooms, this book explores the new possibilities for teaching and learning generated by bringing together reader-response and cultural-studies approaches. The book connects William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and other canonical figures to multicultural writers, popular culture,…

This book stems from the idea that literacy learning is the single most significant challenge facing this country and confronting people all over the globe. Chapter 1, "The Meaning of Literacy," explores various interpretations of the word "literacy" as a necessary basis for analyzing and evaluating literary programs. Chapter…

This book's purpose is to assist school library media specialists in incorporating specific learning objectives into a storytime format, thus extending the storytime experience into standards-based reading and writing lessons. The book is intended for veteran and beginning school library media specialists and teachers who collaborate with them.…

This advisory resource provides a method of understanding the criteria that a reader uses to judge a novel, and recommends titles that fit those criteria. Each book was assigned a primary appeal characteristic of Setting, Story, Characters, and Language. Some were also assigned a secondary appeal characteristic. The book is divided into four…

Describes the use of dialogue journals to integrate reading and writing in a mixed-grade, mixed-ability (1-3) classroom. Describes student responses (retellings, clarifications, personal subjective responses, and interpretive comments). Advocates that students write continually as they read through a text. Demonstrates that dialogue journals can…

College alumni association mailings can be made more successful by targeting the audiences, delivering a strong proposition to readers, choosing a forceful format, and creating impressive copy. Efforts of the University of Minnesota, University of Iowa, and Southern Methodist University illustrate these principles. (MSE)