Experienced English teachers recommend worthwhile books for beginning English teachers. (MS)

Urges teachers to keep reading and writing alive in the classroom by assigning a variety of books, including the classics, and by integrating written responses with the reading assignments. (DD)

Presents five characteristics of middle schools, and suggests implications for reading instruction. (DD)

Presents annotations of eight new young adult books (published in 2002) that have each received at least three "best book" citations. Offers a brief synopsis as well as a thoughtful critique of each book. (SG)

Presents a brief discussion of critical topics addressed in fantasy literature that can help build a foundation for bringing this well-loved genre into the classroom in a meaningful way. Considers fantasy literature's mythic structures and heroic cycles, and religious commentary. Discusses history in fantasy, gender roles, and social commentary of…

Presents the idea of "contemplative reading" and suggests that certain nonfiction works evoke an experience of contemplative response that is familiar to innumerable teachers and other readers. Notes that by looking at the big picture, good contemplative writing can balance the tendency toward overemphasis on negative, problem-based…

Discusses the common beliefs that (1) understanding poetry is an individual act, (2) each person's understanding of a poem is equally valid, and (3) observers must superimpose meaning over nonmeaning. Argues that, unlike science and mathematics, there are any number of "right" answers in the interpretation of poetry. (JD)

Presents four educators' recommendations of fantasy literature for high school and middle school students. Gives reasons for each selection and suggests points on which to focus. (SG)

Warns that students may misread or misunderstand texts during an individual reading activity. Urges teachers to pay close attention to how readers actually move into a story. (MM)

Demonstrates how sixth graders became engaged with the daily journal of an eleventh grader and how this motivated them to write journals themselves. Discusses the varying topics they read and wrote about and how they learned from this experience. (PRA)

Reviews 24 books for youthful readers by several authors. Stresses Gary Paulsen's idea that the richness of the "poem" which readers create as they read text is largely a product of the information that they bring to it. (PRA)

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)

Describes how as part of a nine-week unit on tolerance and prejudice, the author's middle school students became immersed in Holocaust literature. Notes that the theme of bearing witness, of never forgetting, which runs through the literature, is the central driving force of work in the classroom. (SG)