Although experts may debate the literary value of series books and bemoan readers' reluctance to move away from familiar characters and settings, the fact remains that they often draw reluctant readers to the printed word. There is no evidence that reading series books ruins the literary health or moral fiber of readers (Tunnell & Jacobs, 2008).…

In October of 2004, the University of Arizona Press published a short volume of Mario Suarez's short stories simply titled "Chicano Sketches." "Chicano Sketches" reflects the elusive nature of the stories themselves. Although Suarez himself probably would have considered his stories "sketches," they are much more…

When the authors taught Walter Dean Myers's postmodern young adult novel "Monster" to ninth graders, they assumed the students would like the text, as its format and style resemble that of popular television crime shows. The authors also assumed the students would be savvy readers of the text, capable of understanding and integrating postmodern…

Teachers encounter immense variety in literary competence among students in their secondary school classrooms. Yet, little is known about how they perceive and deal with this variety. Moreover, little is known about the literary development that students undergo during their school career and the different levels of development that can be…

Fusing Jimmy Santiago Baca's talents as a writer of memoir with ReLeah Cossett Lent's expertise in building and empowering classroom communities, this book offers a completely new approach to reaching at-risk adolescents. Centered around conflicts and life-altering choices, Baca's gripping personal narratives--delivered through short stories and…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact that a community literacy project had on the reading habits of young children and their families. This year-long study focuses on a public library-run program titled Books in Motion, in which community members read children's chapter book and meet monthly to watch the book's film translation.…

In his frequently anthologized short story "The Sky Is Gray," Ernest J. Gaines presents a fictionalized account of a series of events that occurred in 1940s Louisiana when he was a mere boy suffering with a bad toothache. This physical ailment serves as a narrative catalyst, both driving the action and pulling the readers into a world…

Since the U.S.S.R. released Sputnik I into space in 1957, American science teachers have been focused on preparing scientifically literate students. New instructional approaches have emerged, with the 5E learning cycle being one of the more popular methods used. The 5E learning cycle gets its name from its five stages: Engage, Explore, Explain,…

This article argues that the classification of adult fiction according to "genre" in public libraries causes more confusion than clarification. Whilst the system purports to model itself on bookstore design, the reality is that the actual arrangement is quite different. In the bookstore model, genre is a marketing category and not a…

A student-centered teaching methodology is an essential ingredient of a successful Pan-African literary course. In this article, the author defines Pan-Africanism and how to go about designing a Pan-African literature course. The author combines reading assignments with journals, film presentations, and lectures in a productive learning…

This article outlines the findings of typological differences between the Level 4 (L4) and Level 5 (L5) of the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) in the Russian passages, as explored through the comparative linguistic and content analysis of highly abstract and idiosyncratic philosophical, literary and colloquial perspectives on culture,…

Today many authors and artists adapt works of classic literature into a medium more "user friendly" to the increasingly visual student population. Stefan Petrucha and Kody Chamberlain's version of "Beowulf" is one example. The graphic novel captures the entire epic in arresting images and contrasts the darkness of the setting and characters with…

This article presents the movie "Interview With the Vampire" as an adjunctive resource in counseling. The themes of power, justification of violence, and transformation from innocence to maturity are particularly powerful for adolescent girls. A case study of a 13-year-old girl is presented as an example of how to use a specific film, "Interview…

Street fiction is a popular new genre of novels that focus on contemporary urban life. Marc Lamont Hill, Biany Perez, and Decoteau J. Irby introduce this genre, describing what it is, who writes it, and who reads it. They also offer critiques of the genre and strategies for linking street fiction to the English classroom. (Contains 1 note.)

Resources for selecting high-quality elementary science trade books include lists exclusively for science and those that contain a broad spectrum of content foci such as the IRA's "Teachers' Choices" list. In this study, the genres and content areas of science-based "Teachers' Choices" books from the list's inception in 1988 through 2004 were…