Demonstrates the usefulness of readers theater in the literature class. (DD)

Suggests students will view film adaptations of Shakespeare plays more critically by carefully analyzing the same scene from several different film versions. Discusses relevant scenes from "Romeo and Juliet" for classroom interpretation. Suggests that by providing students the vocabulary to discuss the film, educators can encourage them…

Finds the film "Dead Poets Society" superficial, misleading, and seriously flawed. Examines seven pedagogical issues raised by the film, including (1) should a teacher who suspects that students are about to break school rules connive at their misconduct? and (2) are "sensitivity games" likely to have a lasting effect on…

Provides a curriculum unit using the novel "Fahrenheit 451" to provide student-centered activities based on solid pedagogical methodology. Emphasizes value-centered analysis of the novel, comparison of alternative arguments, and integration of cooperative learning activities. (PRA)

Offers glimpses into the landscapes of people's lives. Discusses Edith Bruck's "Who Loves You Like This,""Life Stories: Profiles from 'The New Yorker'," and Hugh Sidey's "Portraits of the Presidents: Power and Personality in the Oval Office." (SG)

Many well-known adolescent novels perpetuate the dangerous stereotype that killing--and especially killing what one loves--is manly. (JH)

Science fiction today provides the best opportunity to introduce ideas that will get students involved.

Techniques for improving students' understanding of literary devices in junior novels. (DD)

Provides a list of 118 reasons why the author's students claim they study American literature, including: (1) to broaden their vocabulary, (2) to learn from other people's experiences, and (3) to develop an open mind about different kinds of literature. (JD)

Relates the story of a classroom experience that serves to show what is meant by both primary and secondary acts of reading. Argues that teaching the poem at the point of utterance makes it clear that the poem is not simply an occasion for a set of questions to which students must supply answers. (JD)

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)

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)

Discusses the issues of finding a current film acceptable to local standards and justifying it as literature. Gives teaching suggestions for dealing with the setting, characters, themes, ending scenes, and visual poetry using the films "Places in the Heart" and "To Kill a Mockingbird." (EL)

Compares the imagery of two poems that deal with the price exacted by athletic success: John Updike's "Ex-Basketball Player" and A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young." (RBW)

Suggests studying the roles of women through literary analysis as a means of increasing student awareness of the repression and stereotyping that has occurred over the centuries and been recorded by writers. (RB)