This reprint of a lecture published in 1976 examines the uses of history and literary stories for instructing children in grammar, creative dramatics, natural history, and prehistory, as well as literary analysis. Provides a starting point for thinking about the power of literature as an integrating medium in the Montessori elementary classroom.…

Reports on ways in which an undergraduate English course can be structured to invite wide-ranging forms of response. Describes how this was done through an expository reading and writing course based on rhetorical modes and noncanonical texts. Claims that student satisfaction and achievement were excellent. (HB)

Responds critically to Ward Elliott and Robert Valenza's computerized stylometric analyses of Shakespeare plays and purported Shakespearean materials. Argues that the Elliott-Valenza tests are deeply flawed, both in their design and execution. Claims that inconvenient data were ignored, control samples not identified, and unwarranted assumptions…

Examines some of the hegemonic forces at work in the complex social dynamics of the traditionally feminized elementary school setting. Demonstrates how the dominant culture manipulates the character of Ramona, who, if not silenced or entirely subdued by the end of the series, is at least much more civilized according to the norms of the classroom.…

Points out shortcomings of instructional methods derived from art criticism, viewed either as a set of procedures for critiquing artwork or as metacognitive principles for reflective thinking about artwork. Proposes a model of critical-inquiry instruction based upon three instructional activities: personal response, student research, and concept…

Presents a feminist analysis of how decentralized decision-making policies are reflected at the local level in four countries: Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Israel. These examples indicate that management practices tend to be more modernist than postmodernist, and often have highly inequitable effects for female teachers. Contains 63…

Contributes to scholarship on the role of discursive rhetoric for providing a context for visual messages. Analyzes how the American print media, in the summer of 1963, contextualized M. Browne's photographs of a Vietnamese Buddhist monk's self-immolation in two competing frames of either religious oppression or a war for freedom against the…

Contributes to rhetorical scholarship by exploring the rhetorical implications of presidential travel spectacles. Finds that travel spectacles enable administrations to marginalize verbal eloquence, visually simplify complex political issues, narratively interpret presidential agendas, synoptically reify presidential personae, and construct or…

Describes the use of video in preservice teacher education to collectively view and critique methods of teaching as observed in a classroom. Discusses the benefits of shorter segments that can be reproduced on CD-ROM, laserdisc, and DVD; describes four sample video cases; and considers planning, costs, copyright, and evaluation. (LRW)

Describes what constituted literary understanding for one classroom interpretive community of first and second graders by analyzing their oral responses as picture storybooks were read aloud to them. Suggests that the impressive literary critical abilities of children as young as first and second grade are appropriately understood through a wide…

Examines various criticisms of school effectiveness research, arguing that school effectiveness research needs to provide (1) justification for the interpretations of "effectiveness" defined as the unexplained part of performance in a statistical model and (2) a clearer conception of why certain relationships exist. Concludes by addressing the…

Addresses the reasons why students resist learning about modern art within humanities courses. Provides strategies for encouraging students to appreciate and critique modern art, such as using comic strips to illuminate beliefs about modern art, studying the theory and practice of a particular artist, or utilizing group critiques of an artwork.…

Presents annotations of 147 anthologies and works of fiction, poetry, drama, autobiography, and criticism on Native American literature (published between 1994 and 1996). Includes annotations of life histories, biographies, essays, and interviews. (RS)

Observes that the interpretation of literary texts is a multidimensional task requiring students to master a variety of skills and acquire factual knowledge. Argues that use of the World Wide Web allows for the creation of a virtual classroom where students explore historical and theoretical aspects of interpretation. (DSK)

Uses excerpts from fourth graders' literary discussion to describe literary language and reading strategies these students use to analyze and talk about literature and to generate meaning in response to literary texts. Rethinks the nature of literary discussions and outlines the importance of these literary discussions. Lists seven characteristics…