Sophomore, junior and senior high-school students studied the city of the future through science fiction, films, architectural slides, lectures, discussions. Then, with clay, junk and classroom flotsam", teams were set to build model future cities. Result: total and disturbing behavior change leading to understanding of need for the humanities.…

Recounts the personal experiences of a science fiction writer and suggests ways these experiences apply to the teaching of creative writing. (JL)

Notes that science fiction has evolved into a literature of serious social commentary while still preserving its origins of romantic escapism and intriguing gadgetry. Argues that science fiction now looks more closely at life on Earth. (FL)

Media and Methods Reviewers discuss recent paperback books in the following categories: books for young adults, media, culture and society, science fiction, and literature and language arts. (FL)

Argues that television convention mitigates against depictions of technology as socially destructive. Argues that the presentation of science as television fiction is a conservative act. Concludes that television reinforces the socially constructed technological imperative of industrial societies, effacing its own role in the preservation of the…

Traces the changes in the depiction of childhood in science fiction films from the 1950s to the present decade. Argues that the contemporary science fiction representation of the sentimental child is a cultural idealization that opposes the social reality of the vanishing child. (FMW)

Science fiction is a good teaching tool for elementary students because it stimulates the imagination and prepares children for the idea that the world will be different when they grow up. The article presents a science fiction unit, recommending books and activities about aliens, the future, and time travel. (SM)

Describes the Phoenix Award, which honors children's books which did not receive an award at publication (20 years in the past), but have withstood the test of time. Presents an annotated bibliography of winning titles under the categories of: Fantasy/Science Fiction; Historical Fiction (British, Depression Era, World War II, Other Wars, Other…

Good teenage fiction is distinguished from good adult fiction in only two respects: viewpoint and complexity. (JH)

The articles in this focused issue draw attention to works of contemporary literature with classroom potential. Four articles suggest new approaches for the reading and teaching of such established writers as Robert Frost; Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.; Eudora Welty; and Saul Bellow. Two other articles examine the bestsellers "Ordinary People" and "The Color…

Because good future studies and good fiction have a great deal in common, futurists need to recognize and apply the skills of word artists from all genres, particularly novelists and short-story writers. One form of science fiction that futurists could use is the scenario, which is an exploration of an alternative future. A good scenario should be…

The paper examines science fiction literature as a product and part of the social consciousness of the modern capitalist world order. This world order is seen as emphasizing science, technology, movement, growth, urbanization, industrialization, complex organization, and progress. The document is organized into two sections. The first section…

Focused on teaching by theme, the articles in this issue of the "Virginia English Bulletin," an NCTE affiliate journal, include "Theme-type Units: Background and Basis"; "Casting Shadows," which discusses science fiction; "War, Literature, and Kids: Blood Relations"; "Ethnic Heritage Studies for the…

This collection of 12 critical essays--written for teachers, librarians, students, and parents--comments on the style, characterization, sense of wonder, and sense of reality in children's books. Specific subjects covered are (1) the fantasy worlds of Andersen, Beatrix Potter, Walter de la Mare, C. S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, and J. R. R. Tolkien;…

This volume contains suggestions, reading lists, and instructional materials designed for the classroom teacher planning a unit or course on science fiction. Topics covered include "The Study of Science Fiction: Is 'Future' Worth the Time?""Yesterday and Tomorrow: A Study of the Utopian and Dystopian Vision,""Shaping…