If murder mysteries are to carry an epistemic force, it is important to examine how murder mysteries represent a unique way of knowing, of coming to view the world, for their readers. This can be accomplished by looking at the text of murder mysteries and how the nature of the text influences the reality creating process; by exploring the nature…

Presents a model of instruction to illustrate that helping students understand a text need not be at odds with engaging them in student-oriented transactions. Analyzes effects of giving lower-track students direct instruction in how experienced readers evaluate reliability of literary characters by examining the writing and discussions that the…

An exploratory study used stimulated recall to elicit a retrospective account from two alternative school students who choreographed a dance to depict their understanding of the relationship between the two central characters in a short story. Their account indicates that in composing their text they: (1) initiated their interpretation by…

In the 19th century alone, Christopher Columbus was the subject of hundreds of poems that rarely questioned his voyage, his methods, or his place in human history. However, the scholarly work and political realities of the 20th century have undermined the noble, heroic visions conveyed by the poets. Modern readers/students have a dual duty to…

The psychological report is a particular genre of writing, incorporating elements of content and style shared by other literary genres, and appearing in many different forms. These forms range from terse, profile driven description of strengths and weaknesses, characteristic of computer generated psychological reports, to more descriptive,…