Discusses the role of literature in the secondary school English curriculum, then examines the current state of literary criticism and analysis in the classroom. (FL)

Attempts to show how each of three influential critical theories--deconstructionism, reader response criticism, and authorial intention--implies a particular view of how literary discourse is or should be processed and indicates that each view is in part justified, but not to the extent claimed by the critics themselves. (CRH)

This collection of 14 articles aims to help teachers make the most of student discussion and inquiry in classrooms from middle school to high school to college. Contributors to the collection--secondary and college practitioners--offer theory-grounded, classroom-tested approaches for literature study in which students engage in democratic dialogue…

Ruminates on and analyzes the author's experiences in teaching the first course in women's literature and feminist criticism at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Asserts that the course brought to consciousness the author's femininity, feminism, and a new understanding of feminist criticism. (MM)

Argues that students and teachers of literature should begin the study of literary texts with the emotional immediacies and humanistic sympathies that the texts evoke, rather than with an examination of literary critical theories. (MM)

Studies 53 undergraduate preservice English teachers to determine their critical orientation to the teaching of literary analysis in the classroom prior to their taking methods courses. Finds that these future teachers were already convinced of the necessity of multiple interpretations. (TB)

Examines the effects of literature discussion approaches on preservice teachers' purpose in writing. Explores the viability of the instruments developed by D. Wiseman using responses from older students. Contends that a transactive criticism approach can be a valuable way of incorporating literary analysis without negating the reader's experience…

Examines problems of interpretation posed by Avi's "Nothing but the Truth," particularly those concerning what truth is and what access the reader has to it. Shows how a "documentary novel" employs "objective facts" but allows various characters to manipulate them. Suggests that a traditional approach to the novel is problematic and recommends…

Outlines an elementary school unit on rivers, which drew on a range of reading materials both fiction and nonfiction, among them "The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark." Studies the degree of similarity in fourth graders' response to and understanding of fiction and nonfiction books. Observes that children do have unique responses to…

Explains how teachers can use written compilations of student-generated questions and comments as a basis for discussions of novels and poems. Shows that student brainstorming ideas can be used effectively as the basis for writing assignments. (TB)

Using composition, reader response, critical, and feminist theories, a teacher demonstrates how adult students respond critically to literary texts and how teachers must critically analyze the texts of their teaching practice. Both students and teachers can use writing to bring their experiences to interpretation. (SK)

Examines Maurice Sendak's recent picture book in the context of his other work. Looks at the text and illustrations in some detail; suggests psychological and political interpretations; and discusses responses of children. Argues that the book forces educators to examine their own basic assumptions about what constitutes literature for children.…

Discusses the popularity in Britain and America in the 1920s of texts written by little girls. Suggests the child writer offers a private experience that seems to speak only to the reader but in reality speaks to everyone. Claims the child writer is at once perfectly ordinary and utterly extraordinary. (NH)

The study described in this article intended to discover how social processes can influence literary understandings and the development of critical readings of literature in the public space of a classroom. The author draws on Bakhtin's notion of "ideological becoming" to consider how dialogic exchanges focused on works of literature can support…

When social critiques of a book outweigh its own social critiques, should professors still require students to read it? In this article, the author shares how he responds to a student's critiques of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," a text in a course he was teaching on obsession. The author has been teaching "Heart of Darkness" for nearly 30…