In this review essay, Jeanne Connell examines the influence of pragmatic philosophy on the scholarly works of twentieth-century literary theorist and English educator Louise Rosenblatt through the lens of a recent collection of her essays originally published between 1936 and 1999. Rosenblatt grounded her transactional theory of literature in…

Argues the need to develop students' and their teachers critical awareness of literature as a discipline, training its subjects in ways of reading, writing and talking about their own experiences and the worlds they inhabit in terms that may be detrimental to their own best interests. (Author/VWL)

In this article, the author describes how she and her eighth-grade class moved away from formalism into a more personal, more connected, more authentic response to literature. She also explains the importance of a transactional approach in teaching literature and creating a democratic classroom. She honors Louise Rosenblatt, who introduced…

Offers a brief sampling of four essays describing a variety of approaches to argument and persuasion. Reiterates some useful definitions and distinctions, discusses classical rhetoric, connects the teaching of argument to eleventh grade U.S. literature, and shows how to teach students to respond to literature by asking "why" questions…

No one seems to think it necessary to explain what is meant by "literature," or the "aesthetic." If one analyzes the use of these terms in their contexts, a variety of tacit assumptions seems to operate. Sometimes, all that is required is that a text already has been designated as "literature." Sometimes, the presence of story, of a narrative, is…

Addresses two questions: (1) What are the functions of literature? and (2) How do children respond to literature? (HOD)

Contends that not all books are created equal--"Anna Karenina," for example, is worth more than Nancy Drew mysteries. Relates, in a personal narrative, that when this opinion was manifested in a newspaper column, hundreds of letters took issue with the idea. Reiterates that the literate teacher finds ways to convince students that…

Discusses the role of literature in the secondary school English curriculum, then examines the current state of literary criticism and analysis in the classroom. (FL)

Discusses two pedagogically effective approaches to teaching first language narrative texts that have been gaining popularity in English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language literature: the story grammar approach and the reader response approach. (Author/VWL)

Three tips for the classroom include the use of literature circles, integrating reading and writing through literature response; and teaching critical challenges via dramatic arts. (Author/VWL)

Reconsiders the nature of literature as a school subject. Discusses the notion that school literature is different from reading literature outside school. Discusses three anomalies: the text and the textbook; educators' idolatry of "naive readers" whose heads are to be stuffed; and the roles of the reader and writer in school programs.…

Probes William Wordsworth's relationship to the young reader. Concludes that although many young people today cannot have the direct, immediate experience of nature that overawed Wordsworth, they can, in a room where they sit down together and read a poem, "learn a contemplative solitude--and respond to [a] poem in their individual…

Answers the question of whether fiction can mean anything you want it to. Offers suggestions to help students use their personal experiences to make sense out of Kafka's "A Hunger Artist." (EL)

Introduces a student-composed diagram as a means of discussing obstacles and resistances to teaching literature, such as assumptions about what a text is and whether it should be analyzed at all. Discusses a possible structure for the introductory literature course. (TB)

Discusses one teacher's use of ungraded reading logs in which students record quotations and their reactions to them. Points out that logs give students writing practice, involve all students in discussions, force students to read closely, and allow students to think about their reading. (ARH)