Hal Borland's "When the Legends Die" is especially appropriate for high school seniors because its central problem--a Ute Indian boy's search for his identity and expected role in society--is exactly that faced by these students. The novel is divided into four sections, each concerned with a specific stage in the development of the…

These guidelines have been designed to guide English teachers in taking steps to eliminate sexism from the English classroom. Separate sections define sexism, examine ways that language works to perpetuate sexism, show how literature works to perpetuate sexism, and list frequently used terms that are sexist in nature or use, along with nonsexist…

Three articles are included in this issue of the "Illinois English Bulletin." In "Form Is Not Enough: Thinking the Unthinkable about Teaching Literature," John Milstead recommends a reading program for high school English courses which emphasizes the quantity (rather than quality) of reading material according to individual student interest so…

Literature experts, educators, and a national cross-section of interested laymen were gathered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress to define major objectives in literature instruction, to suggest tasks to sample these objectives and exhibit the achievements, interests, and attitudes of those exposed to literature, and to describe…

The first purpose of this study was to discover and analyze the values in "The Red Badge of Courage,""Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,""The Catcher in the Rye," and "To Kill a Mockingbird." The values--conscious or unconscious motivators and justifiers of characters' actions and judgments--were classified according to H. S. Broudy's "Building a…

Intended for teachers-to-be at the undergraduate level as well as for teachers with experience, this book presents the premise that the short story--with its appropriate length and natural interest for students--is a unique teaching vehicle. Five parts comprise the volume: Part 1 discusses four teaching principles illustrated by actual short…

The differences, similarities, and common goals of film and literature, as well as the ways in which each form and its associated criticism is able to illuminate the other, are discussed in this book. Individual chapters are "Literature and Film,""Literary Origins and Backgrounds of the Film,""Griffith and Eisenstein: The Uses of Literature in…

In this study the freely written responses of tenth grade students to four short stories written by black American writers were collected and analyzed. Specific purposes of the study included comparing (1) the racial attitudes of a black literature reading group and a control group, (2) black and white students' level of comprehension, and (3)…

The purpose of this study was to epistemologically justify the place of literary art in the curriculum by showing that its aesthetic significance gives knowledge that can be communicated in no other terms than its own and that this knowledge is consistent with certain epistemological theories. Using theories of art proposed by Langer and Cassirer,…

Teachers of literature do not merely guide students; they also serve as critics. Teachers should remember that their classroom role as literary critics is to serve the needs of students who may not become future scholars of literature. Consequently, in deciphering the complexities of literature, teachers must focus on what the students need in…

This progress report of the curriculum development project aimed at the study of Canada's urban areas through examination of Canadian writings covers the project's first two years. The initial proposal and early planning is reported in ED 055 010. The primary difficulties, after the formation of the team, entailed acquiring release time, arranging…

The purpose of the course on satire in the Quinmester Program is to make the student more aware of satire in literature and the other media, in order to add to his enjoyment of literature and add to his perception of human nature. The course includes the study of art, cartoons, movies, television, and editorials in addition to literature.…

Creative writing assignments are described which prepare students better to apprehend and appreciate Shakespeare's art.

Criticizes contemporary approaches to literature instruction that inculcate passivity. Proposes a system of teaching literature that promotes cultural literacy and active, rather than passive, reading by encouraging students to discover cultural messages and make their own interpretations of the cultural infrastructure and culture-specific values…

Subjectivist literary criticism, which emphasizes readers' emotional responses to texts and adopts psychoanalytic classroom techniques, renders questionable such aspects of literature teaching as goals, evaluation, and teacher preparation. Literature teachers must abandon the scientific orientation of objectivism and subjectivism in favor if an…