This study was conducted to find how teacher candidates at a southwestern regional university understood ableism and empowerment based on their reading and interaction with the campus common reader. This work was important to help future teachers form healthy instructional practices that are inclusive of all students, regardless of ability in…

The author of this article describes an intermediate economics course structured around outside readings, which include academic journal papers, policy briefs, and news articles. Students complete low-stakes, high-frequency writing assignments that promote accountability and encourage critical thinking about the readings. This pairing of outside…

The variety of activities and techniques suggested for improving the writing skill shows that EFL/ESL learners need scaffolding to gain mastery over it. The present study employed the reader-response approach to provide the assistance EFL learners require for writing argumentative essays. Five upper-intermediate EFL learners in a private class…

Engaging students in completing assigned reading material, particularly textbooks, is a challenge faced by many college professors. Further, research has demonstrated student compliance is typically low with reading course textbooks. This study explores the impact of assigning content-specific books written for popular audiences and having…

This study investigates the extent to which students' use of different discussion strategies fosters a balance between attending to the technical elements of authored texts and responding empathetically. Because small-group discussion is a common approach to literary study, the analysis focuses on two small-group discussions of "Charlie…

Required first-year English courses present instructors with a challenge common in the humanities: How do we motivate students to engage in active reading rather than passively scroll down online guides? Introductory literature courses aim to develop students' critical thinking through close reading, analysis, and argumentation--skills demanding…

It is common in college courses to test students on the required readings for that course. With a rise in online education it is often the case that students are required to provide evidence of reading the material. However, there is little empirical research stating the best written means to assess that students read the materials. This study…

"Not reading," even for many good students, has become a mode of operation with respect to book-length texts assigned in school. Many students enter secondary and postsecondary literature classes "intending" to "not read" the books teachers assign. More students than teachers want to admit do not complete assigned reading, choosing instead to…

Dutro discusses an analysis of the disconnect between the material realities of the lives of a group of third-grade children living in poverty and the middle-class assumptions of a district-mandated unit within a literacy curriculum. The analysis arose in the context of an ethnographic study of identity and classroom literacy practices; it was…

Students in an eighth-grade, urban, low-achieving reading class were introduced to critical literacy through engagement in Image Theatre. Developed by liberatory dramatist Augusto Boal, Image Theatre gives participants the opportunity to examine texts in the triple role of interpreter, artist, and sculptor (i.e., image creator). The researchers…

Provides examples of using the Directed Reading Activity as a framework for teaching students to comprehend literary text at varying levels of response. (HOD)

Approaches Susan Glaspell's work by uniting role playing and reader response to foster student understanding of their values of the text. (CRH)

In this article, the author explains why he considers "Animal Dreams" by Barbara Kingsolver, "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko, and "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan as the most desirable books for students. He cites that several questions guide him in selecting these books. These questions include the following: (1) Why recommend certain texts to…

Offers student-centered reading activities designed to bring students to reading maturity and involvement in literature. Discusses partner reading, dramatizing and performing texts, transforming texts, journal writing, discussion, and writing. (PRA)

Presents a study of students in Australia, Canada, and England and examines grade nine students' written responses to writing over a two year period and their opinions of the books they read. Suggests that for students of that age, creative written responses to writing are the most imaginative. (JC)