The wisdom of introducing college freshmen to poetry through destructive literary criticism--a negative assessment of Joyce Kilmer's "Trees" is the example here--is questioned. The underlying assumption that a student's taste may be formed by explaining literary standards to him, illustrated by examples of poor poetry, is subjected to…

This study was designed to determine what effect knowledge of value clarification would have on the reading comprehension of eighth graders. The use of value clarification involves students in decision making, identification with characters or situations, evaluative judgments, appreciations, and so forth. In this study reading comprehension was…

This 20-week course in mystery fiction for high school students is designed to provide experiences in logical thinking, reasoned written presentation, the nature of literary analysis via the crime story, and the tools of research. Students should be able to (1) use their language well, (2) read critically with attention to detail, and (3) meet and…

This study attempted to demonstrate that children's literature as a classroom subject could be employed effectively in the instruction of critical reading. So that any positive results achieved would have more relevance to the teaching of literature, the study also includes a rationale for teaching critical reading in the form of a review of…

Important considerations in planning a junior college reading program are presented. The need for a flexible reading program to meet the varied reading abilities of junior college students is emphasized, and the selection of an experienced, well-prepared reading instructor is seen as being vital to a sound program. Extensive study in the…

The main purpose of this pilot study is to describe the Communications English (CE) program that was designed to help underachievers gain competence in communications skills. The subjects were 75 tenth graders assigned to three CE classes and 75 Regent English (State recommended English syllabus) tenth grade students. Based on diagnosis of pretest…

Critical reading is a continuous process, only beginning in the first grade, which necessitates carefully planned training by qualified teachers. By building upon the student's competence in literal reading, interpretation, evaluation, integration of facts, accurate recall, and reorganization of materials, the teacher can develop the student's…

The purpose of this study was to determine empirically the individual components of critical reading tests and subtests, enabling inferences to be made about the definitions of critical reading and critical thinking and about the relationship between them. The subjects were 50 Hillsborough County, Florida, fifth graders, most of whom were white…

Explains how reading aloud to secondary school students in science classes is beneficial and that it helps them comprehend written scientific materials. (GA)

A collection of ideas from K-8 teachers for developing concepts and skills using television programs and commercials. (SJL)

Suggests that college reading instructors should use an integrated approach (rather than a series of activities) to teach textbook reading and discusses previewing, reading for meaning, paraphrasing, analyzing, and reviewing. (JM)

Discusses worthwhile objectives for English teaching and proposes a simple formula: English classes should be classes for reading literature that really is literature and for writing about it in a way that attempts to be literature. (GW)

Describes ways in which children's books can be used to develop a feeling for the use of words in literature. Bibliography includes sections on alphabet games, patterned language, tongue twisters, homonyms, riddles, codes and puzzles, and parodies. (MKM)

Presents a self-rating scale for rating oneself on teaching critical reading and lists resources for instructional activities involving critical reading skills. (JM)

Examines whether "social reading" can facilitate literary engagement. Indicates that social readers made a greater attempt to convey meaning than did nonsocial readers, but were less engaged with the text as literary discourse. (SKC)