Describes an activity which uses poetry to help students differentiate between literal and critical comprehension and to focus on topics, main ideas, inferences, paraphrasing, and writing in response to text. (SR)

Argues that as reading is taught increasingly as a tool, the delight that comes from personal literacy is becoming obscured. Argues that bringing personal values and experiences to poetry is an important way for students to discover the meaning of a poem. Describes how students can "map" their reading journey. (RS)

Explores briefly the New Criticism that dominated literature instruction until recently and then provides an overview of reader response theory and how response approaches can be used in the classroom to enhance reading. (NKA)

Describes the fundamentals of reader response theory, focuses on the aspects most relevant to reading instruction, and presents a method of teaching using reader response as a vehicle for improving student ability to learn from text. (NKA)