This book presents findings of a cross-section of teachers, elementary through college, who have developed ways to enable students to make connections between their lives and the literature they read. The 28 articles are grouped into: (1) a section on the collaborating and creating connection with literature; and (2) a section on the reading and…

Developed as a model for teachers faced with the task of assigning research papers to students who are still apprentice writers, this two-part paper explores the possibilities of written response that reside both in the dialogic interplay of ideas in utopian texts and in the criticism of utopian texts. The first part examines some ideas contained…

The literary theorist Terry Eagleton believes that literary study is the study of human discourse. To build on his idea for use in the classroom, it must first be assumed that literature constitutes a dialogue between the work (and its author) and the reader. The dialogue process can be introduced in a 2- to 4-week unit through a cluster of…

The articles in this journal issue (1) discuss involving students in various language arts activities that have peace as a theme, and (2) deal with literature for students from kindergarten through grade 12. Topics in the first part are as follows: peace education in the English classroom, the peaceful hero, understanding the language of peace,…

This paper, number eight in an ongoing series, is part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures. Presented are the written responses from 129 readers in Denmark, Greenland, Great Britain, India, and…

This paper, number nine in an ongoing series, is part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures. Presented are the written responses from 137 readers in Denmark, Greenland, Great Britain, India, and…

This paper, number 10 in an ongoing series, is part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures. Presented are the written responses from 140 readers in Denmark, Greenland, Great Britain, India, and…

Presents an exchange between two English professors who offer opposing perspectives on the profession of English. Covers arguments on the understanding of theory, literary history, reading, curricular design, and pedagogy through the examination of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil." (MM)

Examines effects of three writing tasks on students' writing, writing processes, and later understanding of short stories. Results indicate that personal analytic and formal analytic writing were associated with significantly higher posttest scores on literature than restricted writing in the form of short answer questions. (SRT)

Cites limited meanings derived from a film, "The Shooting Gallery," by both eighth grade and library school students to support argument that students are not using critical analysis skills in responding to works of art. Developmentally-sound literature-based programs are recommended as one way to help students develop critical thinking skills.…

Outlines a student-conducted literature course that uses several classic novels ("My Antonia,""The Pearl," etc.) as the basis for group discussion, writing, and oral performance activities--all directed toward extracting "meaning" from the books selected. (NKA)

Focuses on a lesson plan that uses reader-response theory to engage students in a study of a short poem about the holocaust. Reader response theory maintains that each reader brings valuable insight and experience to the interpretation of a work. Includes an annotated bibliography on Holocaust poetry. (MJP)

In this article, the authors discuss how Louise Rosenblatt's work influenced many teachers' teaching and learning practices. Rosenblatt was known for helping readers find their rightful place in the act of reading. Louise argued in the 1930s (and steadfastly maintained until her recent death) that the act of reading was a dynamic transaction…

The institutional view of literature in the National Curriculum of Great Britain shows a dramatic belittlement in its revised version. It lacks a coherent literary or pedagogical rationale and substitutes a functional one in which over-simplification purports to be clarification. The institution is primarily concerned to define English literary…

The strategies in this book, geared for students from grades 4-8, are designed to bring literature to life for students, and to encourage students to become lifelong readers. The first section of the book presents four "'Into' Activities" that are designed to get students excited and curious about what they are about to read and to build students'…