ERIC Number: EJ1439576
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Mar
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-8274
EISSN: EISSN-2161-8895
From the Scroll to the Screen: Why Letters, Then and Now, Matter
Amy Maupin
English Journal, v105 n4 p63-68 2016
The nonfiction letter offers students an opportunity to study a dying art while also gaining insights about people, places, and eras. Teaching students the value of letters teaches community, caring, and connection. Whereas reading great works of literature can and does provide insight into life's purpose and meaning, the nonfiction text of a letter shows what that looks like in the raw. Perhaps most revealing in the comparison/contrast study are the ways in which human psychology shows up in personal messages and why or how the format for the correspondence contributes to that. An email or a text message juxtaposed with a letter will reveal a great many insights related to language arts curriculum. Contemporary forms of communication are also showing up in fiction, but the letter has some history in novels, and it appears to remain a popular format today. If a study of letters as nonfiction precedes the epistolary novel, students are likely to come to the fiction with more complex and interesting questions.
Descriptors: Letters (Correspondence), Nonfiction, Language Arts, Self Concept, Human Relations, Humanistic Education, Interpersonal Communication, Writing Instruction, Writing Teachers, Writing Assignments, Primary Sources, English, Mass Media Effects, Novels, English Curriculum
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A