Finds that, in Hurston's autobiography and her novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," she uses an unusual personification to describe the damage wrought by a flood. Uses James Weldon Johnson's poem "Go Down Death" to complement Hurston's prose. Reads for deeper meanings under the surface of the cliches. Acquaints students with…

Notes that inference is the strategic process of generating assumptions, making predictions, and coming to conclusions based upon given information in text and in illustrations. Discusses the use of causal and relational inferences. Presents strategies that help emergent readers focus their attention on important information that is explicitly…

Discusses how to analyze short stories by Alice Munro. Explains importance of metonymy in reading and teaching these stories. Suggests that the endings of Munro's stories should be examined closely. Concludes that teaching Munro's stories in this way brings students to a greater understanding of her stories. (PM)

Outlines a dramaturg's process when working on three different plays. Contends that the myriad variations on the question "what will happen next?" serve as the basic architecture on which the dynamic relationship between the story/storytellers and the audience is built. Observes that the continual planning and answering of questions is…

Discusses the experiences of a professional and academic dramaturg as she learns how to respond to non-realist plays. Proposes that non-realism is not simply the absence of realism but is a form in itself. Presents a vocabulary for non-realist texts. Notes that to create this vocabulary the features of its style should be defined. Discusses the…

Attempts to understand and relate only a part of the theory of Northrop Frye in "Anatomy of Criticism" and its implications for critical reading. Suggests that if theory is used as a practical basis for literature education then educators must not abuse the privilege and simply use the theory without reflection. (SG)

Shows how Junior Great Books (JGB), a program of interpretive reading and discussion centered around the "shared inquiry" method of learning, improves thinking and discussion skills for students from grades 2-12. Describes a training session for teachers intending to use the program, and provides information for ordering the series. (MM)

Argues that nothing is written without some sort of bias. Explains an exercise in which students are forced to confront the issue of where does the truth actually lie by using a "truth line" similar in appearance to a time line, with fiction at one end and nonfiction at the other. (PA)

Maintains that advertisements are useful in the writing classroom as nonthreatening "real" writing to promote student discussion, to demonstrate tone and voice, to demonstrate writing strategies, and to promote critical reading. (SR)

This article discusses the distinctions between literal and critical reading and explains the role that word recognition ability plays in critical reading behavior. It concludes that correct word recognition provides the raw material on which higher order critical reading is based. (DB)

Reviews several children's biographies of Columbus and challenges the image of Columbus portrayed in these books. Calls upon educators to be more critical when having elementary school students read about Columbus. (MG)

Examines Bloom's ideas on reading and books, suggesting that his stance on determining greatness is philosophically flawed and arguing that his prime criterion for selecting great texts is premised on a problematic theory of legitimation and greatness, leading to a restrictive view of possibilities for university-level reading. The Freirean notion…

Explores connections between reading and writing to examine why teachers assign readings to students in writing courses. Details a variety of goals that writing teachers have for their students' reading. Concludes that exploring theories of reading with students will cultivate critical readers in composition classrooms--critical readers who…

This column discusses the art of engaging text while reading. To read closely, students must get beyond impressionist reading. They must come to see that simply deciphering words on a page and getting some vague sense of what is there does not translate into substantive learning. Instead, they must learn that to read well is to engage in a…

Steven Z. Athanases, a high school English teacher, describes a unit of studying poems through performance where students spend their time looking deeply into a single, chosen poem. The processes of reflection and preparation often result in increased understanding of the poem's meaning.