Focusing on the need to offer and encourage the experience of reading literature in elementary schools, the essays in this book (1) explicate the range of theory known as reader-response criticism; (2) argue its distinctive relevance to the needs of young, developing readers; and (3) indicate how classroom practices might be changed to accommodate…

Examines the styles and themes of Chicano literature and cites specific examples of fiction and poetry that may prove challenging for students of Oral Interpretation. (MH)

Children's books published between 1910 and 1960 reflect a changing world and new attitudes toward children. In 1910, although some of the moral tales of the earlier Puritan era survived, the didactic period in children's books was nearly over. From 1910 to 1925, a transitional period, writers began to look toward the children's own world. Then,…

It is proposed that teachers of Chinese expose their students to traditional critical views of Chinese poetics and criticism through careful selection of poems. This approach to language study is based on the assumption that the student may gain insight and appreciation of Chinese poetry as well as a feeling for the culture. Arguments favoring…

This bibliography offers a selective list of the major literary works of black American writers and of scholarship dealing with them and their works. In addition to a listing of drama, fiction, and poetry by Afro-Americans, those works significant to the life and culture of black people in America and to the study of Afro-American literature are…

Rhetorical discourse and poetic discourse are distinct and must be studied accordingly. Rhetorical discourse treats the world pragmatically, whereas poetic discourse contains an aspect of decoration. Murray Krieger, as a representative of the New Criticism, claims that rhetorical discourse dualizes and alienates man from his world but that poetic…

Several techniques are presented which were used to enliven secondary-school German instruction in Switzerland and to increase student interest and motivation. Classes listened to haiku, discussed the elements of the form, and then wrote their own haiku on suggested topics. A quasi-musical choral speaking performance was developed on poetry of…

This study used poems written by fifth graders to determine any differences in the quality of children's writing which might have been induced by the "broad exposure" approach to teaching poetry, the "analytical" approach, or the "non-exposure" approach. A story-writing pretest was given to 93 fifth grade children who were then randomly assigned…

Religious feeling is always interdependent with racial feeling in the poetry of Langston Hughes. He views religion in the larger context of black culture, presenting it variously as a source of strength for the oppressed, an opiate of the people, the religion of slavery, and an obstacle to emancipation. (BJV)

These volumes offer a blend of genres, authors, and purposes. Specific portraits are provided for each volume in chronological order. The central historical and educational values are in the view that the books give of the world of petit-bourgeois African-American women at the turn of the century. (SLD)

Many students think of poetry as a meaning to be figured out, a puzzle to be solved--as if poets were forever doomed to write only what they never quite mean and to mean what they never actually write. The struggle to discover meaning becomes acute with that distinctly modern poetry created by T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, and their…

Although modern readers often find the interpretation of medieval literature difficult, they should be encouraged to use their imagination to resolve the dilemmas they encounter. Often, these are the same issues with which medieval audiences had to wrestle and which the poets intended to raise. W. Iser's and H. R. Jauss's principles of…

Separate articles in this journal discuss the treatment of controversial themes in current adolescent novels; literature for teenagers that deals realistically with family life; teaching students to apply the concepts of transactional analysis to the study of literary characters; teaching students how to interpret poetry; and using comic-book…

THROUGH A CLOSE LOOK AT 18 SELECTED LYRIC POEMS, THIS TWO-PART NINTH-GRADE UNIT DISTINGUISHES THE LYRIC FROM OTHER KINDS OF POETRY. PART 1 DEALS WITH THE TECHNICAL DEVICES OF POETIC LANGUAGE, THE POET'S PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON HIS EXPERIENCES, AND THE DIFFERENT TONES, ATTITUDES, AND SUBJECTS SEEN IN THE POEMS OF DICKINSON, FROST, KEATS, HOUSMAN,…

GRADE FOUR OF THE NEBRASKA ENGLISH CURRICULUM EXTENDS AND REINFORCES CONCEPTS INTRODUCED IN PREVIOUS GRADES. AMERICAN FOLK LITERATURE, WITH ITS HEROES EXEMPLIFYING HEROIC QUALITIES OF THE CULTURE, IS STUDIED FOR ITS APPEAL TO STUDENTS AND ITS USE OF DESCRIPTIVE AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. EFFECTIVE USE OF PHONOLOGICAL PATTERNS IS ILLUSTRATED IN…