This paper describes two prospective English teachers' beliefs and understandings regarding literature and the teaching of literature. Through extensive interviews that included context-specific tasks, the study explored the subjects' prior experiences with literature, their conceptions regarding the nature of literature, and their perceptions of…

An analysis of four writers' portrayals of nineteenth and early twentieth century working class life reveals a progression of political thought about the treatment of people's struggles to effectively change society. In Dickens'"Hard Times" (1854), the protagonist is a martyr-saint who finds solace in subduing his anger and continuing to…

TRAGIC AND COMIC FORMS OF DRAMA ARE EXPLORED IN THIS TWO-PART 11TH-GRADE LITERATURE UNIT. A SECTION ON TRAGEDY, TREATING THREE PLAYS, EMPHASIZES STRUCTURAL DIVISIONS, CONVENTIONS, AND SUBJECT MATTER PECULIAR TO THIS TYPE OF DRAMA. FOLLOWING A DISCUSSION OF THE CLASSICAL GREEK THEATRE AND THE ARISTOTELIAN VIEW OF TRAGEDY, THE FORM AND THEME OF…

NINE CASE STUDIES ILLUSTRATIVE OF INCIDENTS ARISING FROM THE OBJECTIONS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS TO SPECIFIC BOOKS AND POEMS USED IN ENGLISH CLASSROOMS AND SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE REPORTED HEREIN BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH (NCTE) COMMITTEE TO REPORT ON CASE STUDIES OF CENSORSHIP. EACH STUDY DESCRIBES ANONYMOUSLY (1) THE COMMUNITY'S…

A COMPANION VOLUME TO THE COLLECTION OF ESSAYS, "ON TEACHING LITERATURE" (TE 000 393), THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY IS DESIGNED PRIMARILY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE TEACHER OF ENGLISH IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL. IN NINE SECTIONS, EACH BY A DIFFERENT AUTHOR, IT DESCRIBES AND SUMMARIZES THE CONTENTS OF WHAT THE WRITERS HAVE JUDGED TO BE THE MOST VALUABLE AND…

The teacher can sucessfully present Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" to 11th- and 12th-grade students by concentrating on "The Prologue" and one of the tales--e.g., "The Pardoner's Tale." The structure and plan of the entire work, however, should first be considered before its various parts can be fully understood.…

AN OUTLINE OF THE NEED FOR AND USES OF LEXICOGRAPHY AND A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, PART 1, WERE COMBINED IN THIS CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS. THE FIRST SECTION, THE OUTLINE ON LEXICOGRAPHY, GAVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF DICTIONARY COMPILATION AND DESCRIBED THE NEED FOR DICTIONARIES AND THEIR USES. WAYS WERE SUGGESTED FOR STUDENTS…

This CD-ROM product is an interactive supplement to Shakespeare's text of "Romeo and Juliet." It contains an interactive cast of characters and the entire script of the play with an accessible audio performance. Other features include: "Dr. Wacko"--a feature that calls the student's attention to the more subtle nuances of the…

This sourcebook presents reading guides for 27 literary works frequently used by secondary school English teachers. The guides contain an overview of the work, a pool of instructional objectives for each work, a variety of activities, a series of discussion options, suggestions for evaluation, and annotated lists of related works. Included are:…

This sourcebook presents reading guides for 39 literary works frequently used by scondary school English teachers. The guides contain an overview of the work, a pool of instructional objectives for each work, a variety of activities, a series of discussion options, suggestions for evaluation, and annotated lists of related works. Included are:…

The literary theorist Terry Eagleton believes that literary study is the study of human discourse. To build on his idea for use in the classroom, it must first be assumed that literature constitutes a dialogue between the work (and its author) and the reader. The dialogue process can be introduced in a 2- to 4-week unit through a cluster of…

Although the King James Version of the Bible has had considerable impact on English language and literature, it is seldom studied in American secondary schools. Even before the Supreme Court decision of 1963 banned religious exercises in public schools, the study of the Bible was sketchy and non-systematic. Since the decision, certain conclusions…

Audio-visual materials, found in a variety of periodicals, catalogs, and reference works, are listed in this guide to expedite the process of finding appropriate classroom materials for a study of William Shakespeare in the classroom. Separate listings of films, filmstrips, and recordings are provided, with subdivisions for "The Plays"…

Describes a pilot study intended as the basis for the Oxford Education Research Group Project which examines the values of teaching English literature, teachers' opinions toward and practices in their work, and the lack of knowledge about alternative approaches or student perceptions of the benefits received. (CK)

Describes, from one teacher's experiences, the difficulties of teaching Shakespeare in a Chelsea (Massachusetts) high school and how these problems were eventually overcome. The narrative presents students' reactions. (GR)