Asserts that most modern reading theories take the position that to relax the will while reading is to either become a mere consumer or to submit to the tyranny of other minds. Discusses the nature of pleasure in reading, and argues that self-loss in reading can sometimes be a necessary prologue to self-empowerment. (PRA)

Discusses potential dangers in the current move toward literature-based instruction across the curriculum. Calls for educators to help students understand that there are different stances one can take in reading a text and not to mislead them by treating literary works as if they were intended to be read "efferently." (MG)

Describes a condition called "reader's block" whereby the mind fails to comprehend the meaning of the text because of digressing thoughts. Suggests that "freereading," like freewriting, can help to clarify thoughts. Argues that it is not necessary to read things correctly the first time through. (PRA)

Relates the viewpoints of child readers with respect to authors, narrators, illustrations,and text. Asserts that children can grasp the concept of author well before age five and that, for the child, the author "lives." (PRA)

Describes an interactive approach to reading instruction in which, by manipulating text on a computer screen, learners literally write "between" and within the lines, integrating their own thoughts with the text. (SR)

Explores high school students' poetic responses to artwork, showing how they give voice to concerns that are too touchy to openly discuss in the classroom but are a part of students' increasingly complex world. (SR)

Investigates the relationship of specific semantic and syntactic text characteristics to what information readers recall. Confirms that readers are more likely to recall more versus less important information and information in clauses, independent clauses, and first paragraphs. Suggests how writers can use these findings to help readers retain…

Illustrates how teachers can use the book "Voices in the Park" by Anthony Browne as an effective tool for enabling young children to see that different people can have different points of view about the same event. (NH)

Reminds readers what a deeply problematical exercise teaching Shakespeare can be. Describes teaching "Romeo and Juliet" to a mixed ability year 10 class. Argues that Shakespeare should not be obligatory in the secondary classroom; that there is no excuse for the elitist attitudes around Shakespeare; and that Shakespeare should be treated…

Discusses how United States national policy regarding sexual harassment exemplifies the Foucauldian paradigm in its attempt to regulate sexuality through seemingly authorless texts. Proposes a user-centered approach to policy drafting that values the knowledge of workers as users and makers of workplace policy. Argues that regulation through such…

Suggests that doing literary criticism is how teachers and students hear other voices as they read, instead of projections of themselves. Espouses the study of style as the vehicle of literary criticism. Proposes a definition of style. (RS)

States that the periodic engineering report (a fixture of engineering classrooms and engineering practice) can become a source of conflict when North American engineers collaborate with colleagues abroad. Relates experiences of a writing consultant on such a project. Finds differences in tone and reader expectations caused misunderstandings. Uses…

Looks closely at the way an illustrator and picture book maker, Colin McNaughton, draws children into a special sense of being "in the know." States that McNaughton adapts a wide range of features from comics to the constraints of the picture book and relies on an unspoken pact between reader and writer/artist familiar to all comics…

Borrows Robertson Davies definition of "fifth business": roles in a drama that are neither heroine nor hero but are necessary nevertheless to carry out the denouement. Suggests that reading may be seen as a play in which there is some fifth business without which the reading process cannot fully happen. Uses a variety of typefaces. (TB)

Investigates the relative contribution and trade-off effects of children's knowledge and reading skill in text comprehension. Finds that domain knowledge and reading skill can be traded in order to achieve similar levels of comprehension. Suggests that reading skill compensates for deficient knowledge and specific knowledge compensates for…