Discusses the use of picture books of folk tales to develop literature appreciation and cultural awareness in children and the need to select books that retain the style of the original version of the folk tale, rather than loose adaptations of the story. (CLB)

Explores the origins and elements of popular culture--noting that English instruction and popular culture need not be mutually exclusive, and that selected materials from popular culture may serve goals of the English curriculum without compromising them. (NKA)

The Visual Communication Division of the proceedings contains the following 7 papers: "Photography Editors as Gatekeepers: Choosing Between Publishing or Self-Censoring Disturbing Images of 9-11" (Renee Martin Kratzer and Brian Kratzer); "Jane Campion's 'The Piano': The Female Gaze, the Speculum and the Chora within the…

Two sources provide guidance for developing a teaching strategy. The field of art criticism provides models of verbal behaviors for responding to art, and the research on classroom interaction provides models of questioning strategies. Excerpts from three dialogues between an adult and young children about painting reproductions are included. (SR)

Examines the role of critical language in film criticism. Compares and contrasts Monroe Beardsley's philosophy on film aesthetics with the New Criticism. Outlines some of the contributions Beardsley has made to the study of film criticism. (KM)

Discussion of students' understanding of illustrations in textbooks focuses on a British study designed to determine whether secondary school pupils could identify cut surfaces of objects in biological illustrations. Implications for theories of perceptual development and the role of illustrations in teaching are discussed, and further research…

Defines seven key concepts of media literacy education. Discusses reading visual media as well as print media and computer programs; determining values and ethics; decoding or deconstructing; critical thinking; the promotion of media literacy by interest groups; and educational restructuring with the role of the school library media specialist as…

Examines educational film and video as an affective or cognitive learning tool. Suggestions are given on how to select a film for a particular lesson; how to prepare students for viewing; how to structure a lesson including the language arts; and how students can be led to improved visual literacy though analysis of form and structure. (Author/KRN)

Investigates impact of instructional practices involving media literacy education across the curriculum by examining the work of four different teams of ninth-grade teachers. Shows that students' media literacy skills were highest where media education activities were integrated across all subject areas, where both analysis and production…

The World Wide Web allows users to interact with a graphic interface to search information in a hypermedia and multimedia environment. Graphics serve as reference points on the World Wide Web for searching and retrieving information. This study analyzed the culturally constructed syntax patterns, or codes, embedded in the icons of library…

Preparing students to be both constructors and consumers of visual information will be an important responsibility for all teachers. This will mean giving learners the tools to go beyond what is merely visual to the deeper, human meanings that lie beneath. One important way that educators can prepare students to be wise visual consumers is to help…

Although many students simply do not visualize or draw very well, most students have capabilities and potentials that they, and perhaps their professors, are overlooking. Once elementary representations are mastered, it may be that drawing becomes progressively less of a learning tool as one moves through the educational system. But there is…

Current research at Brigham Young University (BYU) determined that basic visual literacy instruction is needed in disciplines outside of the arts. Following a needs assessment survey of BYU's 83 departments, an honors general education Arts and Letters course in visual literacy was piloted in the 1996 winter semester. Lectures were presented by…

How does one help children develop literacy where they have limited access to books and libraries? How can one overcome the many obstacles to literacy faced by schoolchildren in Nigeria? These are the issues addressed in this paper. Obstacles such as sociocultural factors, English as a Second Language and as the medium of literacy and instruction,…