Rap, a popular music that emerged in the United States during the 1980s and 90s, is described as a creation of young African American culture. It belongs to a centuries old legacy of using language creatively in everyday life. The roots of the music are seen as part of the African-American oral and musical traditions that encompass the hidden…

A qualitative study examined how teenagers react to and interpret certain popular media messages. In addition it explored the relationship between content containing various sexual messages and teenagers' responses to those messages, with particular attention to the critical abilities this audience exhibits. Fifty male and female teenagers aged…

Blues and rock groups provide vivid topics for research and writing at the secondary level. Instructional suggestions acknowledge the abundance of both fact and flack noting the need for discrimination between the two by both teacher and student in the research and evaluation processes. (JH)

The study of mass media and popular culture in a composition class allows students and teachers together to develop a critical awareness of television and advertising. Jerzy Kosinski's book, "Being There," a novel about the impact of television, is a beginning point for the study of television. Using that book as if it were a collection of events,…

Proposes a study of "Citizen Kane" in high school using a somewhat simplified version of post-modern literary critical theory. Chooses this film because of its familiarity and accessibility and because the ambiguity and indeterminacy of its text allow room for exploration by students. (NKA)

Defends Blume's works by presenting internal evidence displaying the honesty and lack of exaggeration that make her books popular with adolescents and unpopular with critics. (CRH)

Popular films are useful aids for teaching history. Not only do they teach students about a particular period of history, they also help students understand the era in which the films were produced. Historical films are categorized and sources for rentals are given. (IS)

Examining popular song lyrics can help adolescent students improve their understanding of society and their place it it. An annotated discography of popular songs which may be useful for this purpose is included. (AM)

Lists 101 ways to use television, radio, film, and other media-related processes and products in the English classroom. (JL)

Two educators express their opinions on the relative merits of a traditional English curriculum v one that includes popular culture. (RL)

Suggests the comparative use of Hawthorne's story, "The Minister's Black Veil," and the Johnny Cash song, "The Man in Black," for helping students learn to judge texts, explore symbolism, and discover the differences between different kinds of literature. (TJ)

Describes a ten-category evaluation list designed to allow students to make an educated guess on whether a new television program or series will be successful or why a program has become popular. Student predictions are compared with what actually happens at the three television networks. (JMF)

Draws from the authors' own experiences in working with youth in an after-school media literacy club to examine the notion that it is possible to arrive at an understanding of how adolescents make meaning of popular culture texts by observing them in action. Teases out some meaning-making strategies that one adolescent used in strategically…

To investigate the characteristics, benefits, and problems associated with implementing Discipline-Based Art Education, the author accompanies two hypothetical secondary school principals on a visit to a high school involved in DBAE. The tour highlights state graduation requirements, instructional materials, and student evaluation methods related…

Summarizes sources on popular culture which can be used in designing a composition course centered around a mass culture theme. (MM)