Argues that there is evidence documenting the need for improvement of university and community college instruction in critical reading and thinking. Describes programs offered to improve such skills. Argues that universities and colleges need to strike a balance between the skills approach and the more general contextual approach. (RS)

Shows how a single passage might be handled by New Criticism, structuralism, deconstructionism, psychological criticism, and feminist criticism. Concludes that a plurality of critical approaches is better than a unity of approach. (RS)

This article describes an approach to examining an expository work which explores and reveals the work's structure of thought by examining it from three perspectives: interpretation, method and principle. This approach is applied to the works of Durkheim and Rousseau. (IAH)

Describes how the works of Dr. Seuss--particularly "On Beyond Zebra"--provide an ideal medium to engage children in critical reading, discussion, and reflection. (MM)

Argues that Kenneth Burke used "The Interpretation of Dreams," as well as other works by Sigmund Freud, as a lesson on reading, taking over the central tropes of dreamwork and making them broadly dialectical rather than strictly psychoanalytic terms. Suggests that Freud's "tropology" of dreaming is crucial for reading Burke.…

Explores the possibility of seeing in Toni Morrison's novel, "Song of Solomon," the co-existence of two narratives of subjectivity. Examines the extent to which the application of a Western and non-Western narrative of subject formation yields conflicting interpretations of the novel and, in particular, the novel's ending. (SC)

Shares American Indians' reactions to "Little House on the Prairie," provides a short description of critical pedagogy and critical literacy, and then shares fifth-graders' responses to the book and their move toward critical reading. Concludes with five suggestions for working with historical fiction. (SG)

In this article, the author redefines "text" and "poem" so that attention will be focused on the reader. The text, she argues, lies inert on the page until the reader comes along and brings it to life in the act of reading, reacting, and reflecting. A poem, then, must be thought of as an event in time. It is not an object or an ideal entity. It is…

Argumentation skills of secondary school students were evaluated in Finland (n = 290), France (n = 54), and England (n = 41). The data were collected from 4 tasks comprising 7 variables. The results indicated that most of the students had correctly justified arguments and conclusions, and composed clear claims and relevant arguments. However, many…

This article presents aspects of a research study into how a group of ten- and eleven-year-old students (in 5th Grade in Sydney, Australia) were apprenticed to view a literary text from critical reading positions. These ways of reading were an alternative to their more typical reader response interpretations of texts. The article contrasts…

The UNESCO-UNEP International Environmental Education Program (1975-1995) provided impetus for developing, legitimizing, and institutionalizing environmental education. More recently, UNESCO was mandated by the United Nations to carry out a worldwide shift towards education for sustainable development. As international organizations'…

Junior high school teacher Mary Rice designs a consumer research unit that cultivates students' critical reading and thinking skills. As students learn how to develop and revise criteria for evaluating the reliability of online information, they read customer reviews, research products, and present their findings orally.

This article focuses on the evolution of the classroom literacy block as a learning space where teachers and students renegotiated activities for independent vocabulary and word work within a high-stakes reform environment. When a second grade classroom teacher and literacy support specialist decided to co-teach, they invited all students in the…

Concludes that if students learn "if-then" propositions, then their reasoning abilities will improve. (RB)

The central purpose of this paper is to call the attention of teachers to propaganda techniques and the criteria for critically evaluating printed matter in the hope that their awareness will lead to implementation of instructional strategies commensurate with the thinking levels of students in their charge. (Author/RK)