Harvey Daniels (1994) describes literature circles as small, temporary discussion groups consisting of students who elect to read the same text. As each member assumes specific responsibilities in preparation for the discussion, those members come to the discussion with supporting notes related to his or her role. One elementary teacher refined a…

Shows how one teacher answered student questions about how a particular piece of literature came to be regarded as worthy of in-depth examination. Proposes that students be taught about various critical approaches, including Jungian/archetypal criticism, formalism, reader-response criticism, socio-historical and biographical criticism, and…

Asks the reader to try to make sense out of one student's response to Adrien Stoutenberg's poem "Reel One." Presents the student's reading and an analysis of the student's reading. (HB)

Argues that recognition of the reader's role in the production of meanings in literary works has major consequences for the theory, research, and teaching of literature. Discusses the need to include the reader's role when writing the history of literature; develop new language for the description of the meanings of works; and develop new models…

Shows how teachers can use the videotapes and writings of Joseph Campbell to help students see patterns in literature and respond personally to it. Presents Campbell's explanation of the monomyth of the hero's journey, and discusses three works in which the pattern is present. (SR)

Explores the possible responses that contemporary children experience in reading "Alice in Wonderland." Describes "Alice" as an ideal text for involving children in complex philosophical issues. Outlines how such an aim is was carried out with different children. (HB)

Brings to focus, on Paterson's novel "Park's Quest," the author's own experiences. Emphasizes the importance of personal engagement with literature in the present as the foundation of a commitment to literature. Discusses transactional theory of response, a personal transaction with "Park's Quest," and implications for…

Using a canonical literary text to elucidate a noncanonical one--and vice versa--is an effective means of teaching multicultural literature. For instance, John Keats'"Ode to Melancholy" and many of his other poems comment on Murasaki Shikibu's 10th-century Japanese novel "The Tale of Genji." Helping college students to…

Reasons that teachers of literature should have as their focus not what writers do but what readers do in the process of reading literature. Concludes that readers construct literary works based on their own experience, education, and ability to imagine in response to a writer's suggestions. (JAD)

Through personal experiences, the author relates how "The Hobbit" assumed different meanings at two different readings of the work, 15 years apart. (HOD)

Discusses Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island," especially the characters of Long John Silver and Jim, and why the novel continues to be read today by adolescents. Discusses, also, the character of Jimmy Little, the adolescent protagonist of "Somewhere in the Darkness," a contemporary novel. Furnishes questions for…

Reminisces about the author's childhood reading experiences and how they were to him a refuge. Gives a reader response reading of Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer." (TB)

Explains how a teacher uses a mystery novel and an aesthetic approach to literature appreciation, as opposed to one concerned with facts in the text, to engage students and prep them for writing their own mystery stories. Shows how one student in particular overcame her sense of exclusion and felt a part of the "literacy club." (TB)

Describes a hierarchy intended to interpret and promote students' aesthetic responses to literature. Finds that students in grades 7 through 10, in contrast to younger readers, have moved into reflective thinking and evaluation. (SR)

Discusses 10 reasons to end the senior year of high school with Bernard Malamud's novel "The Natural." (RS)