Notes that students can begin to learn that literature is not a dead art with no relevance to them by studying works that provide a wider context that will allow readers a new sense of the cultural milieu in which texts are written and read in conjunction with the ones in their course anthologies. (SC)

Considers how teaching John Updike's short story "A & P" to treat issues of class and gender provides practice in reading for multiple meanings. Discusses students' responses to the character "Sammy" and considers issues from personal response to reading the text. Notes multiple perspectives and ways of teaching "A & P." (SC)

Describes a critical reading unit in which one seventh-grade class read L. Sacher's "Holes" and three other classes read texts of their choosing along with a partner. Notes that the goal was to set up a context for the students, as readers, to experience the main character's growth--for them to become active, independent, passionate readers. (SC)

Suggests that using K-W-L as an active learning strategy in a traditional lecture classroom setting can facilitate interaction between professor, students and subject matter. Considers how this method fosters a sense of community between professor, the discipline, and students even in large classes. Concludes that one of the advantages of active…

Studies Chinese bilingual readers' nonverbal responses (vividness of imagery and emotional response) to a text in English and in Chinese. Finds readers of English text did not understand the passage as well as readers of the Chinese version; however, imagery and affect were formed even in the absence of total understanding, showing they are…

Analyzes the discussion of four "struggling" fifth-grade girls and the researcher as they transacted with Mildred Taylor's "The Friendship." Shows how participants' responses to the text and adult and peer guidance created a response development zone. Notes the girls used reading, writing, and discussion to address comprehension difficulties and…

Suggests that stories about the classroom experiences of expert teachers can provide novice or struggling teachers with knowledge useful to their own situations. Presents a cyclical model of learning from expert stories--the textual assimilation interchange--in which the text of the story brings the reader (learner) into the expert's world and…

A study involving 111 secondary students with learning disabilities investigated differential reading performance on narrative versus expository text. Students had more difficulty with expository text than with narrative text in terms of reading fluency and comprehension. However, effects for comprehension were mediated by the type of question…

Studies five preschoolers' response to four genres of picture books: fantasy, realistic, poetic, and information. Finds (1) distinct patterns of response for each genre; and (2) personal associations to the characters, events, images, and topics seemed to form the basis for interpretation. (NH)

A teacher reflects about his first experience in using response journals in his literature classroom and his attempt to use the extant research and other teachers' suggestions. Response journals helped most of his secondary students to change from passive to active readers. Discusses techniques and concerns about implementing response journals.…

Proposes that readability formulas cannot predict text difficulty. Presents results of an experiment designed to demonstrate that "text difficulty" is determined by individual differences (perception) and not by the objective qualities of a text. (NH)

Examined toddlers' spontaneous responses to six repeated readings; subjects were 2- to 3-year olds from at-risk backgrounds. Found that frequent children's responses included labeling pictures, commenting about the picture/story, and repeating what the reader said. Overall verbal activity and number of different responses increased across repeated…

Analyzes how a young child made sense of the stories she watched on video. Discusses how she used what was "at hand" to represent and re-represent the world; how she used repeated viewings to make sense of screen codes and conventions; and how initially watching a video in the company of an adult offered guided participation around televisual…

Explores the expectations of the National Literacy Framework and highlights some problem areas in the context of the National Curriculum for English. Notes one such area relates to the assessment criteria which were selected from the framework to address children's understanding of organizational features of texts in reading and writing. Concludes…

This paper reports on an analysis of the assessment principles used in marking students' written texts in the UK. It considers the assessment advice offered markers with respect to two stories written by 14 year old students in the Key Stage 3 English test in England. The observations offered on the written texts are shown to be general and…