Notes that literature-based reading approaches are becoming increasingly popular in Canada as well as in other parts of North America. Reviews the rationale behind shared book experiences and literary clubs. Provides a variety of language-rich tasks to guide children as they respond to the stories they are reading. (RS)

Explains how teachers can use written compilations of student-generated questions and comments as a basis for discussions of novels and poems. Shows that student brainstorming ideas can be used effectively as the basis for writing assignments. (TB)

Describes the affinities between reader response theory and the proper objectives of English instruction. Describes students not as potential literary scholars but as curious people needing personal experiences with reading and writing. Outlines a model for teaching literature focused on this conception. (HB)

The study reported in this paper argues for a process model of postsecondary instruction where reader-response literary theory in general, and L. Rosenblatt's transactional theory specifically, provides a theoretical framework for strategies which use computers to teach postsecondary English. The paper begins with an examination of the historical…

Maintains that teachers' use of classroom poetry provides opportunities for children to respond to ideas, feelings, and events. Examples illustrate how poetry offers readers/listeners invitations to participate: invitations to identify with others, gain new perspectives, retell stories, move with the sound of language, and respond to one's own…

Educators can help students develop enthusiastic, committed readers who are mentally sharp by developing approaches to literature teaching that are based upon informed concepts of reading and response rather than upon conventional inherited ideas of comprehension and criticism. A study of how 15-year-old students responded to a poem indicated that…

In this article, the author explains why he considers "Animal Dreams" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko, and "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan as the most desirable books for students. He cites that several questions guide him in selecting these books. These questions include the following: (1) Why recommend certain texts to…

One of the primary principles of Readers Theater is to "dramatize" literature in classroom performance and to provide a visual and oral stimulus to students who are unaccustomed to using imagination to appreciate literary texts. Readers Theater may be used to enhance the critical study of language; to explore author meaning or point of view; to…

Describes how a high school English teacher's belief that text contains a single, unchanging meaning evolved to an understanding that students create their own meanings through their own experiences. Discusses ways he tried (with mixed success) to provide students with the opportunity to bring their own experience to their reading. (SR)

Reading workshop employs teaching methods to accomplish the goals of preparing self-disciplined readers who read and write by choice, motivating students to read and write because of a genuine interest, and developing students who learn to read and write by doing. Reading Workshop came into existence as a reaction to the disproportionate amount of…

Differences in readers' interpretations of a given text illustrate premises of the transactional or reader response theory of literature. The theory holds that: (1) meaning resides in the coming together of reader and text; (2) the reader affects the reading of the text and is affected by the text; and (3) there are potentially as many meanings to…

Demonstrating a critical stance requires readers to stand apart from the text and consider it objectively. It involves a range of tasks including critical evaluation; comparing and contrasting; and understanding the impact of such features as irony, humor, and organization. According to this paper, the selection of appropriate literature is a…

Pupils need to experience a quality literature program which stresses diverse cultures. A major goal of a quality multi-cultural literature program is to develop within pupils feelings of empathy, acceptance, understanding, and the wish to interact with persons whose value systems, beliefs, and thought might well differ from others in society. In…

This book captures the power of young people's visual responses to literature. It recounts the experience of a teacher who encouraged her students to respond to their readings through sketched interpretations--and, like pieces of writing, the sketches became a vital part of the curriculum as vehicles for discussion and reflective tools for…

Describes the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress's "Reading Report Card" issued in September 1993. Critiques the report for methodological reasons. Argues that the report is virtually worthless regarding the reading skills of American students and should receive a failing mark. (HB)