In the mid-1920s the poet W. B. Yeats was pleased to discover contemporary philosophers, Giovanni Gentile and A. N. Whitehead, whose metaphysical and educational philosophies seemed to coincide with his own commitments. Whitehead shares with Gentile a sense of reality as activity and an understanding of knowledge as constructed from abstractions…

This dissertation examines the way in which sonnets improved reading comprehension through a case study. The study was conceptually framed around the ideas of the New Critics, who employed two particular fallacies to ensure the most accurate reading of literature. The purpose of the study was to see the potential benefits that could come from…

Suggests that published critical analyses of literary works can be used as a pedagogical tool to expose students to informed literary perspectives. Outlines strategies that incorporate these resources into instruction by addressing several interpretations of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken." (RS)

Outlines a procedure that increases students' understanding of an assigned novel as it encourages them to write poetry. Suggests that students create lists of about 10 words or phrases that they felt helped create a successful opening to the novel and build on these words to create tone poems. (MM)

Asserts that literary criticism and scholarly analyses provide a broad and enriching resource with which to inform instruction and discussion in a pluralistic classroom. Offers examples of a postreading activity based on seven major interpretations of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Presents follow-up and extension…

Explains how teachers can use written compilations of student-generated questions and comments as a basis for discussions of novels and poems. Shows that student brainstorming ideas can be used effectively as the basis for writing assignments. (TB)

Describes an assignment used at the beginning of a unit on poetry in which students analyze rhyme scheme, meter, feet per line, lyric quality, and theme of the lyrics to a favorite song. Notes that after this students may move more easily into analyzing poems. (SR)

Describes the gradual breakthroughs and the classroom procedures in one teacher's efforts to find a pedagogy for poetry that would side-step or eliminate the need for a direct assault on meaning. Discusses the complex first response to poems. Uses visual art to encourage looking and seeing over judging, and reporting over interpretation. (PA)

A way in which poetry can be successfully approached in the classroom is discussed in this book about teaching poetry. It presents a method by which teachers can teach students to read poems rather than teaching them about poems. The first chapter discusses and criticizes the "what-does-this-poem-mean" approach to teaching poetry. The…

A review of over 1,000 student poems reveals the wide variety of forms taken by concrete poetry. Although not exhaustive, the list includes (1) figured verse, which uses poetry or poetic language to shape images; (2) letter/word images, created by the arrangement of letters of words in nonsentence form; (3) letter/word compounds, in which words…

This paper presents a rationale for using popular music in the classroom and provides suggestions for teaching popular music lyrics in the poetry class. The question of whether pop music is an end in itself or a means to understanding traditional literature is also addressed. It is suggested that the teaching of the poetry of rock can be…

Based on cowboy poetry and songs, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Old West cowboys produced a category of literature, people still write cowboy poetry, and cowboy poetry or songs have certain characteristics. The main activity in the lesson involves students in analyzing a classic of cowboy literature…

Intended for use by junior or senior high school English teachers, the articles and features in this theme issue focus on romantic fiction and poetry for young adults. The articles and their authors are as follows (1) "The Gift of Poetry" (L. B. Hopkins); (2) "Maybe the Gallows, But Not a Tin Ear" (A. K. Helbig); (3) "A…

Based on Stephen Crane's poems about war and his novel "The Red Badge of Courage," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Crane examined war-related themes in prose and poetry; that close study of a poem for oral presentation helps readers see meaning or techniques not noted earlier; and that not all readers…

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans focuses on practical suggestions for addressing the works of women authors in the English/language arts classroom at elementary, middle-school, and secondary levels. The 57 lesson plans in this book cover lessons on gender equity,…