Argues that many educationists place an unwarranted emphasis upon the social construction of masculinity and literacy and give it primacy when outlining a framework for change. Claims a literacy program, which meets the needs of all students, will acknowledge that those needs vary greatly within gender groupings as well as across these groupings.…

Describes how the author uses reading response journals in her composition classes. Shows how it actively engages students in the reading/writing process, and how students learn careful, active reading and develop confidence generating ideas and formulating opinions via the structure, freedom, enhanced comprehension, critical thinking, and…

Describes a teaching strategy used in undergraduate reading/language arts methods classes that combines methods from case-based instruction and reader response to literature by using literature case studies--novels that contain school-based events and characters. Offers entries from undergraduate education students' literature logs to describe the…

Discusses why two high school teachers in Kentucky teach the novel "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, discussing their beginnings, their experiences, their approach, and their goals and criteria. Discusses prereading, reading, and postreading activities. Discusses concerns raised by teachers regarding student maturity and parental approval, and…

Argues that current library and information science discourse has drawn definitional boundaries around the word "information" so tightly as to exclude research on reading. Highlights include access to, versus content of, information; literacy studies; print culture history; reader-response theory; ethnography of reading; cultural…

Examines interview responses of Mexican eighth graders about an adolescent novel that related the adventures of a female conquistador, including: their conceptions about gender, dynamics between the reader and the text, and the expression of response. Results revealed students' anxieties about gender issues, noting that how they understood these…

"Manga," or Japanese comics, differ from American comics by their lack of color, the attitude of their audience, and their acceptance of nudity. Several science fictional and action-oriented "manga" for young adult and general audiences are described. (AEF)

Tells the story of three African American children's responses to literature by and about African Americans, showing the importance of connecting literature to the lives and interests of children. (SR)

Examines 31 book club discussion guides prepared by major book publishers for book club readers to explore which particular ways of reading and discussing books they might sanction. Finds that they steer readers toward a rather narrow collection of academic reading practices (analytic and text-based) and away from other types of responses. (SR)

Looks at two case examples of reader experiences, one of an 8th grader and another of a 2-year-old. Considers how to best promote reading by reading aloud in class. Presents a list of 37 highly recommended books for 8th-grade classes and a list of 11 books recommended for read-alouds. (SC)

Discusses the controversial work of Maurice Sendak, a popular, yet controversial children's author and illustrator. Examines the oral responses of a class of first graders to "We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy," with the purpose of demonstrating that children can act as their own agents in constructing meaning through complex…

Examines preservice teachers' developing conceptions of reader response theory, specifically focusing on the importance of aesthetic response to students' engagement with and motivation for reading. Finds that the aesthetic reader stance predominated in students' written responses and discussions; and that written response did not influence the…

Argues that the way teachers and students transact with a piece of literature needs to change if teachers are to change the way students read and see themselves as readers. Suggests teachers need to support a variety of responses and avoid the tendency to reduce discussion to a search for a single main idea. Includes a brief response by Susan…

Explores the multilayered nature of a single picture book by Anthony Browne and the sophisticated responses (including their own pictures) children ages 4-11 bring to interpreting such a text. Suggests that some children who are not yet confident at reading print have developed impressive capacities for analyzing image. (SG)

The importance of establishing a connection with readers in academic writing is now widely acknowledged. The growing literature on this topic, however, has largely concentrated on published "expert" texts and on the ways that writers use language to project their stance or identity. In contrast, this paper will focus on strategies which…