In contemporary contexts, young people are accustomed to life story; indeed, their lives are saturated with constructions of their stories and those of others, whether created by themselves or their "friends" on social networks. Multimedia outlets convey often detailed stories of more-famous others, whether celebrities or those experiencing…

Shows how one teacher answered student questions about how a particular piece of literature came to be regarded as worthy of in-depth examination. Proposes that students be taught about various critical approaches, including Jungian/archetypal criticism, formalism, reader-response criticism, socio-historical and biographical criticism, and…

Examines the works of Hart Crane and suggests his life and works should be studied as a method of helping students learn that the problems they share and endure are common to all men. (RB)

A teacher discusses how she used criticism of "The Scarlet Letter," when studying the book, in her honors class. The students were also intrigued by the biographical information they learned about Hawthorne, and eager to use it in interpreting his novel. (SRT)

Offers a method for teaching English using biographies in conjunction with creative writing assignments, for example, writing a short biography of another student in the class. (SRT)

Describes a three-week unit in which students read a biography of famous person, prepare a first-person narrative, make an appropriate costume, and record the video biography. Notes that students integrate reading, research, and speaking skills on their way to starring in their own one-person show. (RS)