Uses summaries and excerpts from ERIC documents to define fantasy, examine its attraction for children, and describe how fantasy may be selected and used in the elementary school classroom. (DD)

Examines the ways Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment" may be used to teach children's literature and the effectiveness of Bettelheim's method of psychoanalytical criticism as a means of understanding fairy tales. (DD)

Means of organizing a genre study within a reader's workshop to invite students into fantasy worlds is discussed by the teachers of fourth grade. The students can naturally get into critical reading by identifying the characteristics of fantasy.

Notes that lesson plans in English classes are unlike those in many disciplines, because the human factors involved often cause unpredictable elements. Points out that fantasy and spiritual inspiration often come into play when teachers put together language arts lesson plans. (SKC)