In this article, the author discusses how teachers can develop empathy in students through reading and writing about literature, which contributes to their development as citizens in a global community. By choosing texts that trigger empathic reactions, English teachers can help students better understand others' experiences with oppression and…

To help underscore the importance of giving the arts an integral place in the literacy continuum of secondary school language arts, I immersed myself in a careful reading of twenty teacher candidates' transactions in the art of body biography for novel study for intermediate students (grades 7-10). Coming together in groups of five, the teacher…

This paper addresses my experience with a group of 11th grade students and their reading of The Grapes of Wrath (1939, 2002) by John Steinbeck. I questioned how the application of visual arts integration strategies, specifically the use of spontaneously created paintings, might influence the reader responses of my high school junior-level…

Examines literary discourse that occurred in a sixth-grade language arts classroom within a departmentalized, multidisciplinary, and then an interdisciplinary, context. Identifies discourse elements. Organizes elements into the following broad themes: (1) the text and the story world; (2) the reader and the story world; and (3) discipline…

Describes a teaching strategy used in undergraduate reading/language arts methods classes that combines methods from case-based instruction and reader response to literature by using literature case studies--novels that contain school-based events and characters. Offers entries from undergraduate education students' literature logs to describe the…

In children's literature not many characters are shown as multidimensional human beings with strengths as well as weaknesses. Instead, both males and females display behavior and traits which reflect stereotypical roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Although there may be segments of society which are redefining gender roles, the female and…

Based on Joseph Heller's novel "Catch-22," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that active readers evaluate the actions and statements of characters in a novel; and active readers apply the ideas of a novel to contexts outside the novel. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing a paper on a…

Focusing on children's books identified as "notable" for their rich use of language, this book presents essays that discuss literary genres and literary language, responding to the language of Notable Books, and developing an appreciation for language diversity. The book also presents brief essays by well-known children's authors…

This book shares the findings of a study of one teacher, Ann, and her eighth-grade classes of 123 readers who participated in a multicultural literature unit. A feature of the study was that the majority of the students were white--that is, the dominant culture--and studied novels representing nondominant cultures. The study's purpose was to find…