The English teaching profession, spurred on by media and federal politics, has tended to construct aesthetic reading and political reading within a dichotomous conceptual framework (Morgan, 1997; Devine, 2004; Donnelly, 2007). The article argues that this need not be so, and that the two apparently opposed modes of reading can be performed not…

This paper shows how literary criticism can enrich the high school English classroom. Specifically, the paper focuses on how an Internet teaching tool called the WebQuest helped one educator's students learn about literary criticism and apply it to "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. The WebQuest homepage defines a WebQuest as "an…

Argues that William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is the play that is best suited for the high school English curriculum of the 1990s. Discusses historical and critical aspects the play's key themes. Shows ways of using the play in high school classes, and describes 19 works to read alongside of"The Tempest." (HB)

Suggests that students need to become aware of the relationship between one's writing and one's intended audience and presents a way for students to make this analysis. (JM)

Claims that high school curricula should provide opportunities for students to vicariously explore the relationships, roles, and ideas that appear in Shakespearean drama. Uses the dilemma dramatized in "Hamlet" as an example. (JD)

Offers an essay on the "obscenities" of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," to be used as a class exercise in critical reading, diction, and tone. (RL)

Examines the interpretive beliefs, processes, and instructional experiences of eight ninth grade students, and the relationships among them that form their critical interpretive stances toward literary works. Reveals that students reason about literary works at an interpretive level, with largely textual inferences focusing on characters and…

There are rich teaching possibilities in the comparative study of prose and film versions of the same story. (JH)

This lesson plan complements study of plot and characterization in "Romeo and Juliet" by focusing on Shakespeare's use of lyric forms and conventions to spotlight moments in the drama and thereby heightens the impact of the action on the stage. Students look first at the sonnet in which Romeo and Juliet meet, analyzing the imagery to…

Describes several methods by which practicing English teachers enhance the instruction of literary terms in the classroom. Focuses on the actual methods used in an English class, including "theme seeds" and the fostering of metaphoric thinking. (HB)

Noting that for some time, the theory of literature has been supplanted by other disciplines as the major influences on the teaching of English in the secondary schools, this paper challenges the assumptions underlying two major principles for selecting and teaching literature: the social relevance of its subject matter and its immediate impact on…

Suggests ways to get students interested in talking seriously about comedy. (RL)

This paper states that the objectives of career education are entirely compatible with those of English teaching. The first section of the paper defines career education, indicates its broad scope and its relationship to all areas of education, and reports the results of a questionnaire sent to high school teachers, which indicated concern on the…

Intended as a guidebook for high school English teachers, this book contains analyses of American novels commonly read in high school English classes. Each chapter is divided into two sections: an analysis of the novel, including discussions of story and setting, characters, themes, and language and style; and a guide to teaching the novel in the…