Describes various teaching tips used by two practicing English teachers to enhance literature instruction in the classroom. Focuses on the inherent interest students have in heroic fictional characters. (HB)

Describes an approach to teaching William Shakespeare by which one teacher had students take the plays from the page to the stage by becoming actors and directors as well as scholars. Shows ways of relating various plays to more contemporary works. (HB)

Argues that William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part I" is an appropriate and useful text for secondary English classrooms. Shows how the play lends itself to performance-based instruction. Outlines ways of accomplishing student engagement, using film versions, and assigning written work. (HB)

Argues for the use of poems by other poets alluding to plays by William Shakespeare when those plays are studied. Gives four examples of poems and explains how the poems relate to the plays. (HB)

The origin and characteristics of an English course on classical mythology in Western art are described as a basis for suggestions about the use of art and music to accompany the study of mythology. Various versions of each myth are explored in the course. (AA)

Defense of fantasy as part of the regular English curriculum. (AA)

Author recommends use of mystery stories in English classes, and describes six categories of mystery. (SP)

Development of the senses is necessary to understand poetry. Author made children seek poetry in prose with much success. (AF)

Reports what various educators believe classics are and what their place should be in the English curriculum. (JL)

Defines "literature" as including such expository works as "The Theory of the Leisure Class" and "The Lonely Crowd" and encourages development of college courses in expository modes of writing. (DD)

Provides an account of how one teacher taught poetry by first focusing on what students knew about a poem and then moving to what they were surprised by and, thus, to what they did not know. Outlines how such a method was carried out in the classroom with Marge Piercy's poem, "Councils." (HB)

Argues for the use of film in the teaching of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" because the play was meant to be seen and heard and not just read. Outlines a method of teaching the play by which students select a scene and perform it. Gives an example of a successful student performance. (HB)

Examines four factors contributing to the polarization in the current debates concerning the literary canon. Investigates how two groups of teachers approach the study of literature not as an impasse but as a dialectical interchange. Argues that the four factors informing canon debates need not be resolved. (HB)

Presents methods and strategies for using gay literature in the English classroom, focusing on the experience of using Harvey Fierstein's play, "Torch Song Trilogy." Provides details about how the text was introduced and used in the classroom. (HB)

Provides an account of how one poet would like to have her poems taught in the English classroom. (HB)