This article explores the views of children's poet Michael Rosen in relation to poetry in education. It is based on an interview in which Rosen not only discusses the significance of encouraging young people to engage with poetry at school but also analyzes a number of threats to poetry's place in the English curriculum. This article identifies…

Becoming an effective literacy learner requires a bit of slowing down and appreciating the reflective nature of reading and writing. Literature circles support this instructional direction because they provide opportunities for immersing students in discussions that encourage their personal responses. When students feel their personal responses…

Provides an update on the progress being made at the National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning. Discusses research-in-progress with teachers struggling to adapt their instruction to a response-based approach to reading literature. Presents a framework of optional strategies for teachers. (RS)

Presents summaries of empirical studies of kindergartners, fifth graders, high school students, and college students, which suggest that people use stereotypes and gender-based identification in encoding, retrieving, and making inferences. Discusses results of qualitative research on differences in male and female responses to literary texts.…

Uses Homer and the Iliad as examples of the best in teaching. It explains how the Homerian approach in storytelling exemplifies the art of instruction because it is able to simultaneously instruct, delight, and move the student during the learning process. (GR)

Suggesting that the common classroom practice of literature instruction is antitheoretical and counterproductive, this paper elaborates theories of reading processes, discusses children's responses to literature, and proposes suggestions for classroom use. The first section of the paper outlines what literature instruction is expected to…

Discusses in depth the kinds of trust within classroom communities that make reader-response groups work (trust between teachers and students, trust among students, and students having trust in themselves). (SR)

In the Education Commission Report #4 of Hong Kong, three dimensions of learning are noted: cognitive, interpersonal, and aesthetic. In most Hong Kong schools, teaching focuses on the cognitive dimension and to some extent on the interpersonal. The aesthetic dimension is largely ignored, except for the ubiquitous class reader and a handful of…

Describes a literature discussion group consisting of eleven social studies representatives involved in a discussion of children's multicultural literature and articles. Focuses on story as a resource for exploring diversity and for sharing personal experiences and responses with others. Includes the discussion group's schedule and a list of…

Based on a series of studies of the ways in which literary imagination can be used to explore options, solve problems, and understand others, this book is about reading literature, thinking about it, and teaching it. The book, focusing on literature instruction, offers a way to rethink the contribution of literature to intelligent thinking as well…

Writing is at the heart of education. The business of English teachers is to make people more comfortable in using language, particularly written language. Language serves two broad functions: (1) representing elements of external reality; and (2) defining relationships among the people who use the language. The writer's first need is to use the…

Provides a definition and description of the response process and a description of the teacher's role. Describes ERMAA (experiencing the literary work, responding, mapping and analyzing multiple responses, and affirming the inherent individuality of response), a one-week strategy designed to facilitate literary response in the classroom. (RS)

Examines the use of four versions of narrative inquiry with preservice teachers: response to practicum experiences, responses to reading, small and large group discussions, and reflection papers. Each helps students explore narrative assumptions that contribute to their images of teaching, enabling them to explore unexamined parts of their…

This 19th issue of "Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. Under the Ideas from the Classroom section, the August 2001 issue contains the following materials: "Imitation: The Sincerest Form of Flattery" (Anna M. Parks); "Stories That Make Us Who We Are"…

Cites limited meanings derived from a film, "The Shooting Gallery," by both eighth grade and library school students to support argument that students are not using critical analysis skills in responding to works of art. Developmentally-sound literature-based programs are recommended as one way to help students develop critical thinking skills.…