Research into the history of Russian education has been primarily concerned with the sociopolitical dynamics of the educational field?concretely, with government policies on education and science, with the social composition of the teaching and academic corps, and with the broadly ideological attitudes and activities of government officials,…

The selection of appropriately simple and authentic reading materials for high school Russian classes is discussed in light of the temporal and lexical constraints of that instructional level. Teachers are warned against overly ambitious materials and analysis when language learning, not literature appreciation, is the primary objective. (MSE)

One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by Rene Wellek, Philip Rahv, Murray Krieger, Irving Howe, Eliseo Vivas, D. H. Lawrence, Sigmund Freud, Dmitri Chizhevsky, V. V. Zenkovsky, Georg Lukacs, and Derek Traversi--all dealing with the biography and literary work of…

Calls for new textbooks to teach Russian literature. Complains of inappropriate wording for young people, officious and boring content, and a lack of humanistic themes in existing textbooks. Suggests that a text be compiled from among the best literary and critical articles to develop in students a love and understanding of literature. (DK)

This resource book provides 50 learning activities with background materials for teaching about tsarist Russia and the emergence of the Soviet Union. Use of literature, history, geography, primary sources, various learning strategies are all included. The lessons provide study of 19th and 20th century events to Mikhail Gorbachev and perestroika.…

Topics, materials, and assignments are provided for 49 literature lessons for tenth grade, plus review notes. Subject matter includes Gorky, Mayakovsky, Soviet literature in the 1920s, the 1930s, Tolstoi, the Great Patriotic War, Sholokhov, and modern foreign literature. (ND)

In 1870, after the successful publication of "War and Peace," Leo Tolstoy began imagining a story about a high-born society woman, "Anna Karenina," who destroys her life by having an adulterous affair. By presenting his adulteress as a sympathetic character, Tolstoy aimed to expose injustices in such Russian institutions as…

Discusses English reading texts used in the Soviet Union, which are English translations of Russian literature. Notes that such literature divides attention between the traditional and the progressive elements of Soviet culture. (DF)

Explains a process drama which was constructed to help high school juniors better understand country life in Russia, and to help them empathetically bond with the characters in the short stories they were assigned to read. Describes how this role-playing challenged the false notion held by students that serfdom in Russia was similar to slavery in…

The author sees a need for a new approach to the study of literature which will blend teachers' insights into literary analysis with meaningful primary source reading by students. Creative teaching methods should integrate the literary-historical approach with contemporary reading and assessment of a work. (Author/AV)

Developed for a high school quinmester unit on the Russian novel, this guide is designed to give students the opportunity to become familiar with the major works of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevski. Performance objectives for the course include studying the general facets of 19th century Russian culture and history, analyzing the novels of…

This article describes a brief course in Russian literature for sixth-form school students, designed to provide a review of A-Level texts, to stimulate interest in literature, and to develop a sense of the personal relevance of literature in the students. (CLK)

Russian culture is very much influenced by its huge land area, peculiar topography, and harsh climate. To understand Russian culture one must know how Russians perceive nature. This paper discusses how this concept may be conveyed to U.S. middle school students through poetry. Poems about nature can provide students an opportunity to understand…

Intended to provide middle school and high school teachers and others interested in Russia and the Soviet Union with a guide to printed materials, this booklet is divided into several sections. The first section, comprising the bulk of the publication, is devoted to reviews of 69 books that were written for classroom use or appear as if they might…

This curriculum guide examines man's relation to his gods--his fear, love, obedience, worship, and imitation of God--as demonstrated in print and nonprint sources. Classical, Judaeo-Christian, and other outlooks are considered. Reading includes such works as "Oedipus Rex,""The Odyssey," selections from the New Testament,…