In this article, the authors describe the impact of a reader response game in an English language arts classroom. They explore the theoretical intersection of game-based learning and "good games" and transactional theory as a framework for this practice. After incorporating a "good game" of reader response in classes, the…

Purpose: This paper encourages teachers and scholars of English Language Arts to engage deliberately with literary ambiguity. Design/methodology/approach: Through close attention to ambiguous moments in commonly taught texts, the essay argues that explicit attention to ambiguity can support four enduring goals in the field: fostering social…

In the conceptual triumvirate of "language," "literacy" and "literature" that have been central to thinking about English curriculum--indeed, are the overarching organisers for the "Australian Curriculum: English"--that which received possibly the least attention from Garth Boomer was literature. This paper…

The proposals for the revised National Curriculum in English suggest limiting the pre-twentieth century poetry that GCSE pupils read to "representative Romantic poetry" (Department for Education [DFE], 2013, p. 4). This paper argues that poetry of the early modern period is challenging and enriching study for adolescent pupils and that…

As part of its proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) committed to developing Kindergarten through Grade 2 Model Content Frameworks for English language arts (ELA)/literacy (K-2 Model Content Frameworks) to serve as a bridge between the Common Core State Standards…

Argues that elementary language-arts teachers should expand their definition of "text" to include film, a valuable instructional material. Notes that today's elementary students come to class with a great deal of knowledge about films--prior experiences which teachers can tap into. Discusses the application to film of reader-response theories. (SR)

Discusses reader-based and text-based approaches to teaching literature to high school students and then offers suggestions for questions and activities for the teaching of Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War." (TB)

This paper explores some alternative ways to think about critical thinking in the study of literature in the elementary grades. In a review of the research, the paper examines several factors that have shaped, or influenced, the trends in the literature curriculum over the years to determine if and how these factors influenced the teaching of…

Offers 50 diverse suggestions intended to offer students new ways to think about a piece of literature, new directions to explore, and ways to respond with greater depth to the books they read. (SR)

Discusses the connections between the study of literary texts, language, and composition and the impact of these connections on English instruction and English programs. (SRT)

Discusses the work of D. Smith, who wrote "Fifty Years of Children's Books,""Instruction in English," and Selected Essays," that largely document the history of English instruction in the U.S. for the last 50 years. (SRT)

Describes one secondary school teacher's experience in experimenting with reader response literary criticism as a teaching tool and how she handles difficulties concerning teacher supervision, student motivation, and student growth. (TB)

Describes how a middle school English/language arts teacher had students paint in watercolors their responses to the novel the class was reading. Describes how this approach signficantly improved the rate and quality of student participation, and brought out new voices and fresh readings of the text. (SR)

This fastback serves as a brief guide to several strategies for teaching literature in the high school English classroom, including sample assignments for advanced classes and for students with special interests. Techniques are presented for teaching literature using individual response, small-group work, and whole-class instruction. Teaching…

Argues that traditional textbook approaches to teaching literature alienate students from literature. Describes effective alternatives in which students learn interpretive strategies as they analyze and discuss their own important values in life, and then those of characters in a story; and learn to deal with irony. Outlines writing activities…