A study examined how at-risk readers constructed meaning while reading, writing about, and discussing a full-length novel during Transactional Literature Discussions (TLD). Subjects were six fifth-grade students, four males and two females. Students chose the novel and participated in 15 group sessions of 45 minutes over 8 weeks. Scaffolded…

Using the right hemisphere of the brain in evaluating student writing means consciously and consistently incorporating its emotional, intuitive, and holistic functions with the more analytical functions of the logical "left" hemisphere when considering, judging, and directing improvement in student writing. Research seems to suggest that…

Responding to student writing is challenging for teachers, because it is difficult to write helpful, perceptive comments on student papers. Recent theory and research suggest that teachers can learn much about response, and that there are options available to writing teachers searching for better ways to respond to student papers. An important…

Before students are able to write fairly original, successful, critical essays on literature, they need to become experienced members of the audience for whom they will write, sharing fully the social context of critical writing by becoming part of an interactive, interpretive community. This reader-response technique appears to be the best…

This paper reports on a case study of a U.S. high school literature class during an e-mail exchange with a high school literature class in Moscow (Russia). During this project, the students in both classrooms read short stories by Anton Chekhov and O'Henry. By using the stories as a catalyst, the students' goal was to help their distant partner to…

Vocational schools in Slovenia offer 3-year programs in which students aged 14-17 are trained for different professions such as bakers, car mechanics, tailors, etc. Most of the students attending vocational schools were poor academic achievers in elementary school and have little interest in reading. Educators in Slovenia believe that encounters…

This paper argues that while hypermedia and multimedia contain great promise for supporting literacy learners engaged in reading children's literature, software in this area has generally failed to consider the potential of connecting reading and writing experiences within the same electronic environment; reading and writing software has generally…

A study explored the changing role of the elementary teacher within the context of book discussions as teachers move from basal instruction to literature-based reading instruction. As part of an earlier study, two upper-grade teachers consistently expressed concern during interviews and group discussions with their colleagues about how to foster…

Social studies and language arts teachers can enliven and enrich history studies through personalization. This approach can empower children to see history itself as having a spirit as well as a body. Reading and writing activities should allow students to see history as the kind of study that opens the individual up to different visions. Children…

This study investigated the effects of heuristically based assignments and tests on adolescents' written responses to literature. In order to examine both tests and instruction, two separate but related experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 investigated whether the inclusion of guided prewriting on essay tests for two poems and two short…

A case study traces the evolution of "once-upon-a-time" in a child's classroom story writing, drawing upon data collected in a three-year study of writing development in an urban magnet school. The subject, Mitzi, is observed from kindergarten through second grade. The study assumes that stories are cultural discourse forms that serve…

Suggests that while teachers may wish to guide students in their reading of literature--to give them only "good" literature and to help them see the "right" interpretations of it--such guidance leaves students' understanding to chance, and does not help them choose to think and construct values of their own. (JC)

The Literature Project is a literature-based reading program designed to meet the needs of adolescent females with behavioral/emotional disorders, adolescent female offenders, and adolescent females at risk. The project uses novels and short stories written by and for women as basic reading material. Literary selections with heroines who are…

A study examined how a teacher accommodated diversity in a fifth-grade classroom in an inner-city school during a 2-year project involving literature-based reading instruction with small student-led response groups called Book Clubs. The Book Club project operated in the classroom using the four components of literacy instruction--reading,…

Teachers must make sure that the right book gets to the right child at the right time in order to develop positive reading habits. However, once a book is selected, students should be encouraged to think about what they are reading and use the story to evaluate and enrich their personal knowledge. Two classroom programs that use the whole language…