Readers, texts, and readings can take unpredictable and seemingly tangential detours that educators might find undesirable and difficult to control. Readers can stray far from the text to seek out desired meanings. In the same way, media outlets can reappropriate favorite literary fictions in ways that can perturb educators and readers alike.…

Two high school teachers of Deaf students and two teacher educators present this article about the use of graphic novels as an important genre for teaching literacy and academic skills in the high school classroom. During a summer session for failing Deaf students at a state-sponsored school, two English teachers taught and documented their…

Describes a teaching strategy used in undergraduate reading/language arts methods classes that combines methods from case-based instruction and reader response to literature by using literature case studies--novels that contain school-based events and characters. Offers entries from undergraduate education students' literature logs to describe the…

Book Club started over 12 years ago with the goal of creating an alternative context for reading instruction--one that would get students excited about reading and discussing books. Since then, Book Club's combination of excellent literature, relevant writing activities, and student-led discussion groups has proven effective in classrooms. This…

An author recommends that young children read good fiction rather than stories in basal readers. Recounts her dismay when one of her books was adapted for a basal reader and the language was changed and simplified. (NKA)

Describes an individualized reading program called First Reader, which allows student tastes to be used and offers a nonthreatening environment in which to talk about a novel. (CRH)

Presents a study of students in Australia, Canada, and England and examines grade nine students' written responses to writing over a two year period and their opinions of the books they read. Suggests that for students of that age, creative written responses to writing are the most imaginative. (JC)

Presents a study of the effect of differences in reading strategies on the construction of meaning from novel length text. Discusses relevant psychological theory. Hypothesizes effects of differing strategies in reading the book "Animal Farm." Concludes that teacher-directed reading provides a depth of meaning not found when students…

Describes four lessons for "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr, developed by teachers in the Kamehameha Elementary Education Program (KEEP), Hawaii. Observes the links between the two basic activities, reading journals and small group discussions, as well as students' growth in thinking about and responding to the…

Drawing from both research and practice, the articles in this collection address a number of issues related to the reading and writing connection. The 24 articles are grouped into five sections: "Reading, Writing, and Thinking"; "The Parts and the Whole"; "Reading for Writing"; "Contexts for Literacy"; and…