This booklet is intended for classroom use in first-year high school Spanish to acquaint students with the McDonald's fast food restaurants in Costa Rica. The specific objectives are for the student to: (1) discuss the similarities and differences between the American and Costa Rican McDonald's, (2) set up a miniature McDonald's in the classroom,…

This book explores the potential of U.S. movie theaters as an important national asset. Each of the 4,000 movie palaces constructed during Hollywood's Golden Age, as well as the countless smaller theaters modeled after the grander showcases, has a role to play in the life of today's cities. The first section of the book explores the social and…

To account for cognitive and affective responses to popular music, a pilot study used an information processing model to show that affect results largely from the activation of affect-laden schemas by the music stimulus. Subjects, 196 students from an introductory course in interpersonal communication at a medium-sized university, listened to a…

The six papers in this journal issue were presented at the 1977 spring meeting of the Missouri Association of Teachers of English, the theme of which was "Tradition and the Popular Arts." The papers deal with suggestions for texts and equipment for a film-production course; formal writing in the language arts curriculum; the teaching of a…

Teaching the general student is the focus of this journal issue. The nine articles deal with the following topics: teaching the noncollege-bound students, strategies for teaching complex literature to general students, teaching western novels as an introduction to literature, linguistics for the junior high school general student, teaching how to…

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)

This collection of essays grew out of the "Reading Stephen King Conference" held at the University of Maine in 1996. Stephen King's books have become a lightning rod for the tensions around issues of including "mass market" popular literature in middle and high school English classes and of who chooses what students read.…

This lesson introduces students to the "blues," one of the most distinctive and influential elements of African-American musical tradition. With this lesson plan, students can take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee, one of the prominent centers of blues activities, and explore the history of the blues in the work of W. C. Handy…

As with the regular issues of "Biography Today," this special subject volume on "Authors" was created to appeal to young readers in a format they can enjoy reading and readily understand. Each volume contains alphabetically-arranged sketches. Each entry in the volume provides at least one picture of the individual profiled, and…

A study examined kinds of messages prevalent in the media used by preteen and teenage girls, asking what messages are sent about goals, dating, careers, behavior, and appearance and its relationship to well being. Four media were the subject of the study, which comprised 12 samples from television programs, theatrical films, music videos, and teen…

This document presents a summary of a national telephone survey that examined messages sent to adolescent girls (ages 10 to 17) across 6 types of media most heavily used by adolescent girls: television, movies, magazines, music videos, television commercials, and magazine advertisements. The study asked what messages are sent about gender…

This pamphlet summarizes the key findings of a two-part study that investigated the messages that young women (age 10 to 17) get from the media. A content analysis examined messages to girls across a range of media most heavily used by adolescent girls: television, movies, magazines, music videos, television commercials, and magazine…

An account of an American teacher's experience in gathering material for her projected teaching experience in France. The material described consists of songs with commentaries on why they were representative of U.S. culture and essays on different aspects of their life prepared by the teacher's French students in Connecticut. (AMH)

Discusses two paperback books, "The Malacia Tapestry" and "The Shattered Chain," that are written with a junk-fiction formula yet have serious themes. Contends that teachers may find the books useful in motivating thoughtful nonreaders. (FL)

Notes that news media use has declined in recent years, particularly among young people. Offers a critical review of research on the changing role of journalism in political socialization. Evaluates calls for popular alternatives to conventional forms of news and for a postmodern conception of citizenship and the public sphere. Concludes that more…