In this book, the author reveals the creative force of children's narrative imagination and shows how this develops through childhood. He provides a new and powerful understanding of the significance of narrative for children's intellectual growth and for learning and teaching. The book explores a series of real stories written by children between…

Explains how to involve students in a composition unit that requires them to complete writing assignments from various points of view. (DF)

Teachers' dismissal of Robert Cormier's books as "too depressing" suggests a lack of sound critical understanding of his work and a lack of faith in individual young people. The body of adolescent or young adult literature has come a long way in recent years. The writing has shown a much fuller range of literary quality and the content…

Based on the idea that the study of postmodernism is a useful and valuable pursuit because it engages students in discussions of fundamental questions about the individual's situation in the world, this book takes an interdisciplinary approach to address postmodernism effectively. The book conceives postmodernism as a widespread cultural…

This book is a collection of essays designed for high school and college teachers who want to introduce non-Western and other non-canonical texts into their traditional literature courses. The essays in the book explore the kinds of visions encountered when teachers cluster Western texts with those outside the dominant Western tradition. Papers in…

This paper provides a creative approach to developing literary understanding and writing ability in students in a college introduction to literature course. Eight assignments are described which pair literary works having some feature in common. A sample suggestion from the first group of exercises, concerned with characterization, is as follows:…

Assesses the progress made in computational stylistics over the past 25 years. Discusses theoretical notions of style. Describes certain trends that emerge from relevant articles in conference proceedings and academic journals. Concludes there has been progress in the accumulation of data, the creation of databases and archives, and construction…

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans focuses on practical suggestions for addressing the works of women authors in the English/language arts classroom at elementary, middle-school, and secondary levels. The 57 lesson plans in this book cover lessons on gender equity,…

Explores the linkages between Thomas Hardy's poem "The Darkling Thrush" and the thrush scene in George Orwell's novel "1984." Suggests a variety of enrichment projects for students that deal with aspects of these two works. (RBW)

Intended for teachers of composition courses, this book provides twelve bibliographic essays covering various aspects of composition studies. The list of essays are as follows: (1) "Recent Developments in Rhetorical Invention" (Richard Young); (2) "Structure and Form in Non-Narrative Prose" (Richard L. Larson); (3)…

Noting that instructional films can serve as a valuable tool to motivate students and to help them organize, interpret, and evaluate concepts presented, this program guide is designed to assist teachers in planning instructional activities that will effectively integrate films into the English language arts curriculum. The first section of the…