In this article, the author invites everyone to join her as she follows Laurel Richardson's advice to use writing as a method of inquiry. To do so, she engages in a fictional conversation with Michel Foucault--later joined by actor-network theorist Michel Callon--in which she talks through and constructs understanding(s) of and from her research…

A multiple-baseline design across subjects was used to determine if paraprofessionals could be effectively taught to write and implement "Social Stories"TM] that shared accurate social information and had a positive impact on the targeted behaviors of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Three paraprofessional-student pairs participated…

Aphasic (N=15) and non-brain-damaged adults listened to and retold two narrative stories three times in succession. Both aphasic and non-brain-damaged subjects were affected by story structure and increased the amount of information retold across retellings. Non-brain-damaged subjects retold slightly more (statistically insignificant) information…

Discusses how Natalie Babbitt combines fairy tale with psychological realism in "Tuck Everlasting" by using the motif of the hero's journey as a metaphor for a character's changing perceptions of himself or herself and the world. (MG)

Discusses how teachers can build upon childrens' natural sense of story, identify good books to serve as models of story elements and structure, and highlight the worth of an author's or illustrator's techniques of story craft as models for improved student writing. (SR)

Historically, comics have been viewed as a "debased or simplified word-based literacy," explains Dale Jacobs, who considers comics to be complex, multimodal texts. Examining Ted Naifeh's "Polly and the Pirates," Jacobs shows how comics can engage students in multiple literacies, furthering meaning-making practices in the classroom and beyond.

The legacy of the New Critics, including its historically male-dominated canon of poets, continues to hold influence, in part because its methods of reading preside over many college classrooms. New Critical readings stress careful explications, based solely on the evidence offered in the lines of the poem. This way of reading encourages careful…

Borrowing the concept of story grammar from reading comprehension literature, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of teaching "word problem (WP) story grammar" on arithmetic WP solving that emphasizes the algebraic expression of mathematical relations in conceptual models. Participants were five students in Grades 4 and 5 with or…

Semantic mapping is effective with expository prose but not as effective with narrative prose. To achieve a better understanding of narrative prose, yet still keep the benefits of semantic mapping, the traditional approach can be modified into a technique called "episodic mapping." Episodic mapping is based on the idea that most stories…

This folktale unit supports 6th- through 8th-grade students exploration of the many subgenres of folktales: trickster tales, fairy tales, fables, tall tales, and legends. The unit focuses heavily on the use of technology as a learning tool as students work together to create WebQuests for their peers to explore. During the 10 one-hour sessions,…

Analyzes the narrative structure of the film "Fight Club," addressing its critique of consumerism and its celebration of masculinity. Addresses the representational politics that structure the movie, especially its deeply conventional views of violence, gender relations, and masculinity. Considers the role that "Fight Club" and other cultural…

Examination of stories invented by four- and five-year olds indicated that narrative skill was a better predictor of the inclusion of conflict and psychological causation in a story than was age. Plotted narratives included conflict and psychological causation more often than did less-structured narratives. (BC)

Describes how the author uses the "Witch's Hat" (a modification of the Gaussian Curve) in both college developmental English classes and undergraduate reading education courses to teach story structure. (SR)

Describes a study of the effect of direct story grammar instruction for first graders. Finds that (1) young children benefit from simple story structures that focus on beginning, middle and end; and (2) this structure may provide young children with a foundation for developing an understanding of the elements of story grammar. (NH)

Making connections is an emerging education theme of the 21st century. Science teachers are encouraged to connect new learning with prior knowledge, learning with student interests and experience, and classroom activities with the history and nature of science. Strategies that facilitate these connections enrich and enhance instruction. In this…