Explores how child readers in Australia and Germany responded to Randolph Stow's "Midnite." Reports on responses from taped interviews conducted in each country, examining both child and adult responses to the ironic humor of the work. (MG)

Advocates the use of story journals--written reactions to books that children have either read themselves or heard--in primary grades. Asserts that story and literary journals provide an excellent link between literature and writing. (MM)

Reviews the growing body of work that examines reading as a process occurring within a social context and having social consequences. Three categories within this literature are examined: studies of literacy and its sociocultural role; the history of the book; and the meaning of reading as an activity. Notes and a bibliography is appended. (15…

Wrestles with the questions of how teachers might understand and respond to the risk of exposing children to graphic historical narratives. Focuses on picture books and novels intended to help children remember, understand, and confront the implications of the Nazi genocide of European Jewry and the use of nuclear weapons on the people of…

Discusses puzzling statements by second graders in a classroom literature discussion. Argues that, by considering children's sociocultural backgrounds in examining their responses to stories, teachers can better understand and appreciate their students' critical thinking dispositions and abilities in the classroom setting. (SR)

Provides a report of the attempt to create an "autobiography club" among beginning English teachers in order to foster ongoing discussion of experiences and problems. Analyzes club discussions and the lessons being learned through the club's activities. Discusses methods for undertaking ethnographic research in education. (HB)

Discusses responses of undergraduate students in an American literature course to inclusion of ethnic reading selections. Finds that two themes--family and social justice--were touchstones to choose reading selections that older adolescents find personally meaningful. (RS)

Discusses the problems inherent in the teaching of young adult literature courses. Describes a collaborative project designed to allow preservice English teachers access to younger students to get a better idea of student reading interests. (HB)

Responds to previous article by Douglas C. Smith on exploring the religious-spiritual needs of the dying in which Smith presents psychosocial tools than can be used to assess, examine, and amplify client's religious-spiritual strengths. Compares Smith's work to classic values clarification, addresses issues of counselor judgment and informed…

Interviews elementary children about their fiction writing to gain a glimpse into how writing teachers might improve their teaching. Found the following three features in students' growing knowledge of characters: characters can elicit readers' empathy, can change the attitude of the readers, and can have a mind of their own. (MG)

Describes 12 successful practices for literature programs which evolved as students and teachers talked about books. Finds that these practices minimize the basalization of literature and maximize the analysis of and dialogue about literature. (MG)

Determines the incidence, distribution, and relationships of various error types when disabled readers responded to inference questions based on narrative and expository selections. Finds greater proportions of errors in three of the seven categories: integration of text and prior information, ability to write intended responses, and recall of…

Researchers examined cognitive processes used to construct meaning from narrative text in successful and less successful ninth grade readers. A coding system analyzed think-aloud protocols students recorded while reading two stories. Students were primarily story-driven readers. Differences between stories rarely affected their responses.…

Offers guidelines for using literature in the primary classroom. Shares the experiences of first graders with the book "Owl Moon." Notes that it is important to retain the essence of the story--to demonstrate for young readers how readers connect with books. (MG)

Explores the interrelationship of learning, language and literature. Suggests assignments that allow students to respond like readers rather than like apprentice critics. Asserts that writing is not merely recording, and reading is not merely decoding. States that confusions about meaning and syntax disappear when writers read their own work…