Argues that the most common use of reader-response theory in the classroom is misguided in its emphasis on personal response and identification. Discusses the social and political nature of readers, texts, and contexts. Suggests that when a text is about characters whose life and culture are very different from the reader's, it can heighten the…

Considers the role of visual literacy in the reading experience. Discusses an assumption among readers, publishers, and many educators that the visual elements in a text may be safely ignored, marginalized, or simply edited out. Argues for the important role of visual arts in literature. (SC)

A study investigated the religious and spiritual values in selected children's books. A second study investigated children's comprehension of the values messages. Thirty realistic fiction books which won, or were honor books for, the John Newbery Medals for 1974-1988 were selected. A modified version of the Values Category Scale was developed and…

Argues that children's responses to the literature in their classroom need not always be formal and structured and that spontaneous, informal responses are equally meaningful. (DF)

Presents four techniques, based on two philosophical premises, that are designed to extend readers' responses to literature: (1) literary sociogram, (2) semantic webs, (3) plot profile, and (4) Burgess summaries. (RBW)

Redefines reading as a meditative rather than a narrowly cognitive process. Decries instruction in reading for comprehension and assessment because it restricts opportunities to explore and "get lost" in reading. (HTH)

These two teaching guides, one for the novel "Summer Song," (appropriate for grades 5 through 8) and one for the novel "Libby Bloom" (appropriate for grades 3 through 6) are designed to help teachers use these children's books in interdisciplinary classroom settings. The "Summer Song" guide offers thematic links on…

Muses about the growing number of "special problem" books--books about children who are asthmatic, diabetic, or have AIDS, etc. Recounts the circumstances of the author's childhood as a diabetic. Concludes that adults sometimes work too hard at trying to make life fair for children. (PA)

Examines the key role that memory plays in the meaning-making process that children enact as they read and view images in a classroom that respects and encourages their own views and reflections. Discusses the six major categories of children's visual responses, and presents representative examples of children's illustrations. (TB)

Examines a young girl's responses to "feminist" and "patriarchal" folktales. Explains that issues raised by tales involved the exercise of personal agency, physical strength of males and females, and the symbolic significance of dress. Contends that findings challenge psychological theories about the appeal of folktales to young children, and…

Presents speculations on broadening the concept of literacy and using pictures to teach. Discusses the importance and value of training students to "read" a painting and, by extension, a visual image and how this fits into promoting a culture of literacy. Considers the application of reader-response theory to pictures as text. (SG)

Explains how to develop the independent use of literature response journals with remedial readers. (MM)

Claims that computer games have little educational value, are antisocial, and classroom time should be spent on more worthwhile pursuits. Argues that computer games are not literary texts in that they cannot inform students of their cultural heritage, provide an opportunity to respond to ethical questions, or deal with significant and lasting…

Clarifies the "efferent" and "aesthetic" stance on Louise Rosenblatt's theoretical continuum by relating her model to the plot, characters, and scenes in Lois Lowry's "The Giver." Shows that Rosenblatt's view applies to the ways readers read texts and to the way characters in the texts read their text-worlds. Presents…

Presents a project where the teacher, rather than teaching the students how to read using a remedial, isolated skills approach, concerned herself with getting them to read by "falling into the literature" and getting involved in the characters' lives. Describes a reader response approach that was designed to motivate the students to engage with…