Science fiction and fantasy play an important role in shaping the future while stimulating readers' imaginations. They expand our consciousness and provide living images of the world of creation, not as it is or was, but as it has the potential of becoming. Any literature, art form, or medium of expression which is capable of affecting the…

This language arts minicourse guide for Lampeter-Strasburg (Pennsylvania) High School contains a topical outline of a science fiction course. The guide includes a list of ten course objectives; an outline of the major themes and types of science fiction covered in the course; a description of the course content with emphasis on defining and…

As a supplement to Project Physics Unit 2, specially selected articles are presented in this reader for student browsing. Eight excerpts are given under headings: the starry messenger, Newton and the principia, an appreciation of the earth, space the unconquerable, "Is there intelligent life beyond the earth?," the life story of a…

Science Fiction is interdisciplinary by its very nature, merging elements of science, fantasy, and popular art into an open-ended mythology shared by its creators and audience. The use of science fiction can help in making education more general, more flexible, and more relevant to possible future needs. Even at its most general level of…

This collection of 40 articles and essays on English-language children's literature encompasses literary history and criticism, standards, changing tastes, the child's response to books, writers and their writing, illustration, and recent books. Most of the articles and essays were written in the 1960's, but a few important earlier contributions…

A series of articles examines the subject of educational futures, including discussions of the relevance of the topic to the training of teachers and librarians. Three games for future forecasting (SCIFI, AFAR and FAR) and a mini-delphi technique are included. A scheme for viewing alternative futures in Educational Technology through the use of…

Reports the results of a two year survey of 300 teachers in four Southeastern states who taught some form of science fiction in their classroom instruction. The survey considered (1) disciplinary areas utilizing science fiction and the basic purposes for using it; (2) basic themes of science fiction; and (3) teachers' comments about science…

Contains a partially annotated, nontechnical bibliography of recent materials about supernovae, including some about the discovery of a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Includes citations of general books and articles about supernovae, articles about Supernova 1987A, and a few science fiction stories using supernovae. (TW)

Discusses women who write fiction and fan literature based on the "Star Trek" universe, outlining how Star Trek fans force the primary text to accommodate alternate interests. Also considers the issue of literary property in light of the moral economy of the fan community that shapes the range of permissible retellings of the program…

An issue devoted to the use of science fiction in the French language classroom discusses such topics as the development of the genre, literary techniques, themes, imagery, sociolinguistic elements, and potential classroom activities. (MSE)

The value of Orwell's novel is not to be found in point-by-point comparison between the society it portrays and our own, but in its treatment of such important issues as the centrality of language in thought and action and the dangerous potential bureaucratic organizations have to dominate our minds. (JBM)

Proposes that science fiction novels contribute to study of political science, and discusses specific novels and their application to political science. (ND)

The article reviews new elementary and secondary classroom materials in social studies. Topics treated by the instructional materials include values, China, legal education, the bicentennial celebration, black women, and science fiction. (Author/RM)

This paper illustrates several examples of visual science fiction use in teaching literary classics, and is based on the philosophy that students share a visual cultural literacy through movies and television, types of representation with which they are more familiar than with literary texts. It claims that visual science fiction can be utilized…

This book consists of two complete units on the ideas and concepts of science fiction. The first unit is created for lower elementary students and the second one is for upper elementary grade levels. The units are designed for gifted students and encourage students to be responsible for their own education. Each unit is based on an…