Responds to William Bigelow's 1989 article which was being used in a fifth grade classroom. Questions the approach taken by the teacher and focuses on how children can be most productively involved in the kind of critical reading Bigelow advocates. Discusses the use of "I-Charts" (inquiry charts) to foster critical reading. (MG)

Many curricula for teaching reading in a foreign language do not include the skill of understanding the implicit meaning of texts. This article presents a taxonomy of inferences drawn from selected taxonomies of Pearson and Johnson, Warren et al., and Nicholas et al., which are also reviewed. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/LB)

Investigates the influence of subject-matter setting on comprehension monitoring by secondary school students. Expected comprehension monitoring to decline when material was presented as incontrovertible truth, as in science texts. Concludes that comprehension monitoring depends on subject-matter setting and, contrary to expectations, science has…

Discusses T. S. Eliot's communicational scepticism, defined as "...the idea that meaning is to some extent private to each individual, since language is an inadequate instrument for conveying thoughts from one mind to another." The article examines various issues relating to the literary criticism of Eliot's poetry. (20 references) (CK)

Explores argument in reading as a touchstone to academic study, discusses some views of the sources of reading difficulty, and makes some suggestions that have helped college students cope with the quantity of reading required and get the most benefit from their reading efforts. Illustrates these strategies with example from undergraduate students…

Discusses how four picture books, "Granpa,""The Tunnel,""The Wolf," and "Shortcut," provide the stimulus for children to become more effective readers through the use of sophisticated literary strategies. Explores some of the "gap-filling" required of readers as they deal with the indeterminacies…

Uses Orbis Pictus Award Committee criteria (accuracy, organization, design, and style) to examine an informational book, "Rice Is Life," by Rita Golden Gelman. Subjects the book to a deeper critical analysis. Suggests that it is important to help students become critical thinkers about everything they read, including informational books.…

Examines the images, both negative and positive, of farm workers in 27 children's picture books. Offers strategies for critical reading. Surveys children's picture books in which a farm setting is integral to plot, character development, or theme. Includes only those books published within the last 10 years. (SG)

Literary inquiry has been a part of the curriculum at many North American medical schools for more than 30 years. Ostensibly its original purpose was to humanize the overstuffed, science-based curriculum. Since then, other rationales for its place in the curriculum have appeared, including, among others, translating critical reading skills to…

This article presents an instructional strategy that helps young students perform critical literacy practices that incorporate democratic ideals. The model outlines a plan to stimulate young people's critical engagement with social justice issues. The model features an actual historical event involving young activists in civil rights. The author…

Uncovering issues of school safety, both perceived and real, requires research that probes students' perspectives. This paper tells the story of a comparative research project initiated in an English education methods course. The study was conducted in two high schools and utilized mapping and surveying to determine students' perceptions of school…

Reading teachers concerned with gender equity have struggled to find ways in which to critically engage with students' popular culture. Traditionally, feminist reading teachers have seen popular texts as mechanisms for the reproduction of dysfunctional gender relations. However, this perspective is often met with resistance by young readers. In…

The enigmatic author Lemony Snicket is quick to establish from the start that happy events are not to be expected in his collection, "A Series of Unfortunate Events." Every happy event in the lives of the three clever and charming Baudelaire children is countered with an even more unfortunate one, events rife with misery, misfortune, and despair.…

In this article, the authors describe Web 2.0 as tools that have increased the urgency for students' and teachers' critical literacy skills and have also participated in the implementation of critical literacy. The authors define and position both Web 2.0 and critical literacy. Further, students' and teachers' power dynamics within both critical…

The rapidly growing phenomenon of video games, along with learning that takes place through video game play, have raised concerns about the negative impact such games are reputed to have on youth, particularly boys. However, there is a disconnect between the discourse that suggests that boys are failing in learning literacy skills, and the…