Argues that the Bible is a classic in a class by itself, and discusses why secondary students need to study it. Notes legal interpretations that guide Bible teachers and students. Describes how secondary English teachers are successfully teaching the Bible in several schools across the country, and discusses literary allusions, bible versions,…

Describes two gaming strategies which teach poetry using quotations extracted from six Shakespeare plays. Discusses selecting plays and quotations, games for matching quotations, and providing synopses and introducing characters. Describes in detail learning objectives, player distribution, adjudicator role, procedures and rules, and debriefing…

Describes how the authors taught their students to read "Hamlet" from a critical literacy perspective, analyzing how particular readings of texts and characters are constructed or produced; how they are determined by historical and cultural conventions; analyzing values that various readings support or challenge--rather than trying to…

Discusses why the classics can be difficult to teach in high schools. Offers suggestions for making difficult literature more approachable for high school students by scaffolding students' engagement with classic texts; building background knowledge; developing vocabulary; facilitating the reading of the text; and through enrichment an extension.…

States that 1998 marks the 70th anniversary of Wanda Gag's picture book, "Millions of Cats" and that Wanda considered herself an artist rather than a writer of children's books. Recounts events in her early life; discusses why her book became a classic. Lists seven classic elements in the book and seven questions for stimulating student response.…

Describes how an English teacher slowed down her class and took out certain activities, in order to put in reflection. Relates how she now requires (and teaches) students to reflect on what the things they read actually mean to them, their beliefs and their lives. Shows students relating to the classics in vivid ways. (SR)

Presents a high school student's description in class of her deep connection to Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," and how it offers a glimpse of the vast interior lives of women. (SR)

Describes an efficient, open-ended set of instructional activities for high school students that has students analyze song lyrics of R.E.M. (an alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia) for literary techniques, topics, themes, and form as preparation to experiment with reading, deciphering, and mimicking Emily Dickinson. (SR)

In 1870, after the successful publication of "War and Peace," Leo Tolstoy began imagining a story about a high-born society woman, "Anna Karenina," who destroys her life by having an adulterous affair. By presenting his adulteress as a sympathetic character, Tolstoy aimed to expose injustices in such Russian institutions as…

Describes how, at a school in Texas, Shakespeare becomes a teaching vehicle for learning-disabled students as they engage in a year-long class that studies Shakespeare and his times, as well as produce an entire play. Argues that the experience works so successfully because it is student-centered, collaborative, and experiential. (SR)

Although "Othello" has been one of William Shakespeare's most popular plays, its performance history has been marked with risk and tension because of the play's focus on racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality. The controversies surrounding conflicting attitudes toward race and religion, love and marriage, and war and the…

Describes the discomfort experienced by students and teacher as they explored how blackness is portrayed and understood in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Grapples with fundamental pedagogical questions: how to talk about race with a diverse group of students and how to examine victimization and oppression. Suggests tandem teaching with M.…

Throughout seven years of teaching in urban schools, the author discovered that the most effective ways to teach difficult literary texts was to refer to students' out-of-school activities. In other words, to connect the "leaky edges of the "social outside"" with the "individual inside" is to create a curriculum of…

This study guide covers the new television version of one of Mark Twain's most popular stories, "The Prince and the Pauper," the classic tale of two boys whose curiosity about each other's lives leads them to switch places and, in the process, learn valuable lessons about outward appearances and true compassion. The guide summarizes the…

Describes a classroom activity where students compare an episode of "The Simpsons" to speeches and essays of Mark Twain. Suggests it invites students to consider the categorization of texts into "high" and "low" culture, and helps students build media literacy skills by applying tools of textual analysis first to a…