Comments on two opening articles by Parham ("Cycles of Psychological Nigrescence") and Helms ("Considering Some Methodological Issues in Racial Identity Counseling Research"). Shows how the Nigrescence process has been a constant of Black history, having evolved in response to the efforts of White slave owners to deracinate…

Presents the theoretical framework for examining texts in educational contexts. An actual reading lesson is analyzed in terms of the text structure and content, the nature of student-teacher interaction with the text, and post-reading discussion of the text. Tables outline the text structure and contrast teacher manual recommendations to actual…

Examines how literary criticism exploits and marginalizes the poem as printed artifact. Argues that the author-centered, phonocentric premise of close reading neutralizes spatial dynamics and reduces material identity to the status of a transparent medium. Suggests that appreciation of silent visual form is a convention of post modernist writing.…

Describes the author's experience of taking two creative writing courses. Stresses the values that are taught: self-investment; avoidance of premature closure; seeing revision as discovery; experimentation; and trusting your own creative power--all necessary for good writing, whether academic or creative. (RAE)

Examines the value of literature response groups by gathering information about the dialogue occurring within them. Studies the content of talk, the functions of language in use, and evidence of reading comprehension. Finds that literature response groups are a good resource for helping children communicate through talk in the classroom. (MS)

Describes the effect on junior high remedial readers of a reading workshop applying principles from Nancie Atwell's "In the Middle," including self-selection of adolescent literature books, silent reading, dialogue journal writing, and sharing work with others. Augments the workshop with "mini-lessons" on elements of reading…

Presents a case study of an avid middle-grade reader who a had poor self-concept and who did not connect her school reading to anything in her life. Discusses how free-writing and language experience approaches helped her present detailed, thoughtful responses to text. (RS)

Responds to earlier article by Mio and Iwamasa (1993) on white researchers investigating ethnic-minority populations and other cross-cultural issues. Organizes concerns raised by Mio and Iwamasa under two themes: ethical issues and professional turf. Concentrates on ethical issues having to do with nonmaleficence, beneficence, privacy, gratitude,…

Presents a method of teaching liturgical texts, related to the lectionary. Describes Bernard L. Lee's shared homily method based on Hans-Georg Gadamer's hermeneutical movements. Illustrates how Lee's homiletic method can be adapted into a disciplined conversation with the text for use in other religious instruction. (DB)

Explores the reactions of fourth and seventh grade students to two picture books about Columbus written from two different perspectives (white European explorer and Native American). Notes that the fourth graders saw Columbus as either all good or all bad after reading the books but that seventh graders were able to recognize the complexities of…

Reviews two areas of cross-cultural research (sociolinguistic research on oral interaction and the applied linguistic research area of contrastive rhetoric). Makes recommendations for using collaborative peer response groups successfully with multicultural classes. (MG)

Explores the effects of the use of aesthetic and efferent stances in response to literature with 43 fourth graders, 47 sixth graders, and 40 eighth graders. Finds use of an aesthetic stance is associated with higher levels of personal understanding and the level of understanding increases with grade level. (MG)

Describes how the authors have facilitated student-led literature discussions in their second- and third-grade classrooms. Outlines the basic organizational structure that fosters response-driven conversations about books. Illustrates the various ways students speak meaningfully with each other about the literature (including inferential…

Considers two CD-Rom narratives as examples of high quality, interactive multimedia texts currently available. Looks at how verbal and visual texts draw the reader into an interactive response and the extent to which multimedia elements shape the reader's experience of the text. Bases findings loosely on fieldwork involving responses of four…

Discusses what five teachers learned when they engaged in a literature discussion group to discuss children's books to develop themselves as writing teachers. Highlights the three layers of talk (emotional responses, exploring the meaning of the book, and exploring the writer's craft) and the role these play in the learning process. (SR)