Notes that much of what students read in high school (both young adult literature and the classics) leaves them feeling sad and confused. Argues that teachers can balance that with windows of hope through literature. Offers examples from young adult literature for each of three categories of optimism. Discusses two young adult novels which…

A teacher reflects about his first experience in using response journals in his literature classroom and his attempt to use the extant research and other teachers' suggestions. Response journals helped most of his secondary students to change from passive to active readers. Discusses techniques and concerns about implementing response journals.…

Despite their impact on literary criticism, contemporary theories of reader response and deconstruction seem to have had little effect on the practice of teaching literature, and most teachers of introductory literature courses remain vague about what these "new" theories are and how they can be used. Proponents of some of these theories…

Notes that syllabus requirements for British secondary school literature courses tacitly create a course in writing as well. Presents ways in which this writing component can be implemented, without isolating it from the literature component. (HTH)

Suggests that teachers should foster situations where text, readers, and teacher can meet in collaborative ways. Identifies four reading research categories focusing on different contexts that surround the reading act. (MM)

Describes an exercise to elicit student interpretations of Robert Wallace's poem, "Ungainly Things." (MM)

Relates experiences teaching Philip Larkin's poetry. (HOD)

Argues for an interpretation of Act III, Scene I of "The Tempest" that stresses the characters' revealing their vitality and humanity through their dialog. (AEA)

Finds that instead of trying to acquire knowledge about literature, students must learn to read between the lines to respond emotionally as well as intellectually to novels, drama, or poetry. (EL)

Argues that the essential discipline in literature is neither learning to write essays for an exam nor keeping up with the latest scholarship but giving close attention to the words on the page and learning to respond to them. (MM)

Discusses how "Sons and Lovers" was used to elicit values discussions using questions from "Teaching in the Content Areas" by Harold Herber. (CRH)

Telling stories from secondary and college English classrooms, this book explores the new possibilities for teaching and learning generated by bringing together reader-response and cultural-studies approaches. The book connects William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and other canonical figures to multicultural writers, popular culture,…

This book aims to make a genuinely new contribution to the teaching of classic and contemporary literature in high schools--a system of teaching English that achieves classroom control through engagement and interest in content. The questions posed in the book help students build a kind of mental muscle for reading challenging texts and, what is…

Presents critical interpretations of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" from four points of view: the feminist reading; the reader response reading; a realistic reading; and a historic reading. Outlines classroom activities and follow up activities to use along with the four interpretations. (PM)

Maintains that, when students interpret a poem differently from their teachers, an opportunity opens for a common ground of understanding that can enrich the relationship between text and reader. (RS)