In defining an audience, writers make guesses about the mutual knowledge shared between writer and readers, and thus send cues to readers that exclude them from the audience for a specific discourse. Often writers assume that readers possess more knowledge than they actually do, and so make it impossible for readers to function within the world of…

Twenty-four blind adults were tested to assess whether headings in braille text facilitated reading comprehension and recall. Subjects reacted positively to the use of headings, but upon being tested for recall no significant effect was found. (Author/JW)

Discusses ways in which reader response journals can be useful as a teaching method. (SRT)

This article explores the dynamic, interactive relationship between texts and their teacher- and student-readers and suggests instructional and educational implications resulting from these interactions. (DF)

Argues that African students can find more to identify with in Shakespeare's works than can British students. Offers many examples of similarities between African cultural traditions and those of Shakespeare's time. (SRT)

Offers modifications to the Question Answer Relationships technique that provide (1) a clearer explanation of different sources of information for answering questions, (2) an easier format for considering developmental differences in reading and learning, and (3) an expanded use for the technique both as a tool for teachers and as a strategy for…

Examines the sense of rupture or difference inherent in children's literature between the author or adult and the reader or child, as they concern Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island." (TB)

Studied text interpretation in four experiments with second and fourth graders, manipulating several story variables. Found that both groups were skilled at providing two text interpretations, although second graders were more likely than fourth graders to use extra-story information in their second interpretations. Subjects' first interpretations…

Presents a letter from a sixth-grade student to the author and presents his response letter which are found in a compilation of author/reader correspondence called "Letters of Hope." Discusses the role of the storyteller and considers if writers of young adult literature feel an obligation to provide hope for their readers. (SG)

Shares some of the classroom practices that have worked well in teaching "Naked." Presents a summary of introductory comments about the story and a description of the sketching activity. Offers interpretive commentary on a selection of representative student sketches that reflect significant features of the story. Provides general…

Suggests that many so-called "theme" or "idea" stories are among the most memorable short works ever written; yet for some readers--inexperienced readers in particular--they present formidable difficulties. Illustrates this with, and provides teaching suggestions for, Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." (SG)

Describes how one teacher uses children's literature to help children learn about the Holocaust. Shares reactions from some of the students to the literature. (MG)

Examines how eighteenth-century critics treated the visual format of traditional verse as a determinant in readers' appreciation of form and meaning. Explores correspondences between eighteenth-century work and modern criticism. Argues that twentieth-century appreciations of the visual format of verse are limited by their concentration upon more…

Argues that the rhetoric of text design is shaped by contextual variables, such as the purpose of the communication, the proximity of visual cues within the document, and the reader's familiarity with visual conventions. Concludes that technical communicators need to consider these factors as they begin using the wide range of visual elements…

Suggests that visual signs help to define form and structure and are significant in their semantic function. Discusses a series of typographic studies that examine the relationship of designer, text and interpreter in the dialectical process of communication in which meaning is rendered and made explicit. (RS)