A key instructional goal of English language arts instruction is teaching students to read and interpret complex literary texts. This report reviews the literature on the development and pedagogy of literary analysis skills. It analyzes literary analysis skills as a "key practice," a bundle of disciplinary skills and strategies that form…

This article examines classroom practices that draw upon students' understandings of race and equity as they engage in critical literature inquiry to explore issues of power in our society. Our research team, comprising a fifth-grade classroom teacher, a doctoral candidate, and a university professor, analyzed students' written and digital…

The proposals for the revised National Curriculum in English suggest limiting the pre-twentieth century poetry that GCSE pupils read to "representative Romantic poetry" (Department for Education [DFE], 2013, p. 4). This paper argues that poetry of the early modern period is challenging and enriching study for adolescent pupils and that…

Assuming that readers' emotional responses can enhance readers' metacognitive experiences and inform literary analysis, this study of 11th-grade poetry readers features instruction that models both cognitive and affective reading processes. The author: (1) Presents a case for more explicit attention to emotion in language arts classrooms; (2)…

Maintains that teachers' use of classroom poetry provides opportunities for children to respond to ideas, feelings, and events. Examples illustrate how poetry offers readers/listeners invitations to participate: invitations to identify with others, gain new perspectives, retell stories, move with the sound of language, and respond to one's own…

Anthologists and editors prepare the way for poetry readers, selecting works that reward close reading and assisting interpretation through annotation. But on the Internet people can return to poetry in its native state--one set of words among many others competing for appreciation--and read with fresh eyes. The learning objectives of this lesson…

In the Education Commission Report #4 of Hong Kong, three dimensions of learning are noted: cognitive, interpersonal, and aesthetic. In most Hong Kong schools, teaching focuses on the cognitive dimension and to some extent on the interpersonal. The aesthetic dimension is largely ignored, except for the ubiquitous class reader and a handful of…

In children's literature not many characters are shown as multidimensional human beings with strengths as well as weaknesses. Instead, both males and females display behavior and traits which reflect stereotypical roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Although there may be segments of society which are redefining gender roles, the female and…

Reviews 31 collections of children's poetry that help students see the world from a fresh perspective. Notes how they were used in a variety of classrooms and how children responded to them. Organizes the books in terms of: making the ordinary extraordinary; looking at relationships in new ways; new views of the world; and a fresh look at animals.…

Maintains that, for each child, an initial contact with a poem through a sensitive and skillful teacher can be an individual dialogue with thought and feeling, reforming and deepening with time. Examples of poems are used to illustrate this point. (BB)

Focusing on children's books identified as "notable" for their rich use of language, this book presents essays that discuss literary genres and literary language, responding to the language of Notable Books, and developing an appreciation for language diversity. The book also presents brief essays by well-known children's authors…

Intended to encourage teachers and students to take a fresh look at children's literature, this practical collection of ideas offers plot summaries and suggests teaching strategies for 57 notable children's books. Books in the collection were chosen "outstanding trade books" by a National Council of Teachers of English committee on trade…

Sharing concerns and interests of New York State educators in the improvement of literacy, this annual journal raises educational issues such as appropriate, effective instruction and assessment for all of New York's children. A central thread found in many of the articles is the importance of authenticity and inclusion. A second strand reflects…

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,…