Assuming that readers' emotional responses can enhance readers' metacognitive experiences and inform literary analysis, this study of 11th-grade poetry readers features instruction that models both cognitive and affective reading processes. The author: (1) Presents a case for more explicit attention to emotion in language arts classrooms; (2)…

States that psychological models help shape students' responses to literature. Explains how a Freudian model can be used to explore the meanings inherent in Emily Dickinson's "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass." (MM)

Presents a student-guided approach (based on Louise M. Rosenblatt's "Literature as Exploration") to teaching Willa Cather's MY ANTONIA. (MM)

History teachers and their 11th-grade students rated the relative importance of sections of instructional text on which teachers would be giving a test. Multilevel analysis revealed only a moderate correspondence between teachers in importance ratings. This suggested there were large differences between task demands of individual teachers,…

Describes an individualized instructional unit on Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" that focused on students' responses to the novel's plot, character, theme, and structure. Reports that students wrote good quality essays, performed well on a test of the novel, and engaged in serious discussion of the novel during student…

A study investigated the role that writing plays in eleventh grade students' understanding of literary texts. Classroom observations, collected student writing, interviews with the teacher, and interviews with six case study students--two from each of three classes--provided a portrait of teaching methods, writing tasks, and student responses to…