While visiting the classroom of an English teacher on campus, the author noticed a large number of literature textbooks that were being replaced with a newer edition. In this article, she describes a project, which was inspired by these discarded literature textbooks, designed to introduce students to an art form based on ideas rather than…

Examines tasks provided for students in most literature textbooks used in the United States, noting that these tasks typically control students' responses to literature. Relates these tasks to current theory and research on the reading process. Describes activities from literature texts used in Canada that facilitate literary response. (MM)

Hypothesizes that typographic cues structured according to a defined set of common attributes within textbooks enable readers to discriminate between various levels of information and to make generalizations about the information contained in each level. Proposes a method of identifying and ranking categories of information. (KEH)