This study explores literature reading and reception of narrative texts among Swedish middle school students. Through a written assignment and a think-aloud protocol, students' comprehension and interpretation of narrative texts are investigated. The study shows that Swedish middle school students tend to focus mainly on the plot. The main…

In this discourse analytic study, we examine interactions between adolescents with autism spectrum condition (ASC) and their typically developing (TD) peers during the construction of fictional narratives within a group intervention context. We found participants with ASC contributed fewer narrative-related turns at talk than TD participants. The…

The relative absence of nonfiction in literature for young readers may have serious implications because nonfiction literacy matters. Nonfiction material is the crucible within which readers can gain the knowledge and skills that enable them to reach sound decisions in all arenas of life, avoid gullibility born of ignorance, and participate in an…

Discusses metafiction (contemporary fiction) and the new relationship between subject and reader that challenges traditional practice of point of view in fiction. Suggests ways for the interpreter to deal with the performance of metafiction. (JMF)

Explains how to perform a booktalk as a readers' theater script and offers guidelines for staging. Two examples are given, one for a picture book and one for a novel; and nine booktalks are provided for historical books that are suitable for adaptation as readers' theater scripts. (LRW)

"The Hope Chest," a short story by Jean Stafford, offers a challenge to the oral interpreter of literature because it demands that the performer demonstrate its complex narrative levels. There are five distinct facets in the personality of the central character, Miss Bellamy: a lonely, fearful old lady; a shrewd, hospitable mistress of…

Readers theater is a storytelling device that stimulates the imagination and promotes all of the language arts. Readers theater is an oral interpretation of a piece of literature read in a dramatic style. It involves and motivates students, energizes the language arts program, and stimulates learning. Geared for children in grades 1-4, this book…

The works of Eudora Welty challenge the abilities of the oral reader who wishes to interpret them properly. Her novel, "Losing Battles," requires careful attention to the narrative point of view as a guide to its various dimensions of meaning. The narrative shifts through the consciousnesses of various characters of four generations in a rural…

Three performance problems encountered in storytelling are: subordinating the perspective of individual characters to that of the storyteller; the role of the audience; and the undefined boundary between reader and audience. The concept of "Gestus" as espoused in the dramatic theory of Bertolt Brecht offers an approach to the performance…

This study assesses the role of oral interpretation in a comprehensive theory of discourse and suggests how oral interpretation may be integrated with the study of literature. Oral interpretation is thought to be useful to the student of literature because: (1) the analysis may lead to a valid interpretation of the work; (2) focus is placed on the…

The purpose of this second book of 21 self-contained essays is the same as that of the first volume published in 1972: to bring together the scholarly theory and current research regarding oral interpretation. One third of the essays are centered on literature itself: prose fiction, poetry, and the drama. These essays discuss topics such as point…

Describes a public library program designed to stimulate appreciation of adult fiction written in and about the contemporary western United States. Discussion covers project objectives, oral interpretation of literature, project phases, study guides and bibliographies, staff orientation, lectures, evaluators, personnel, publicity, problems, and…

There are eight major categories and 198 entries in this annotated bibliography compiled and distributed by the Oral Interpretation Interest Group of the Speech Communication Association. The categories are designated as (1) Type of Literature, (2) Analysis of Literature, (3) Bibliographical Data and Social Background, (4) The Art of Literature,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 29 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the young adult novel; (2) the image of the senior adult in recent fiction for adolescents; (3) adolescent identity themes; (4) storytelling; (5) linguistic…