Characters with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have become increasingly popular in young adult literature. Using a case-study format, this article describes the communication, sensory, and social characteristics of eight protagonists in award-winning young adult novels. All told in the first person, these novels provide insight for young readers…

James Moffett's "Storm in the Mountains: A Case Study of Censorship, Conflict, and Consciousness" remains as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1988 for those who want to understand the nature and sources of contemporary conflicts in American language and literacy education. Censors continue to try to restrict student…

In research with young people about their experiences of rural and urban environments, the authors were struck by how participants in their rural case study used fiction to explain their experiences. The participants' use of fiction lead the authors to an additional rich vein of empirical material and analysis not foreseen at the beginning of the…

In this article, the author challenges English teachers of literature to examine applications of reader response theory in teaching reading which posit that readers approach a text from two stances: "aesthetic" (emotional) or "efferent" (literal). The essay presents a case study of pre-service English teachers and adolescents'…

Using a college course on William Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood" as a case study, this book presents an alternative approach to teaching poetry. Divided into seven sections with 19 chapters, the book describes how students can develop and exercise an historical imagination in the…

An alternative approach to the teaching of literature views the reading of a poem, short story, novel, or other literary work as an opportunity for a person to create his or her own immediate response. The approach suggests that there is no constant, objective meaning for a piece of literature, only individual responses reflecting the…