Suggests that research on the structure of narrative promises to yield practical benefits for the literature curriculum. (JL)

Seminar participants discuss the novel "Ceremony" as a curing ceremony, the function of memory in the novel, and the distinctly American Indian aspects of the novel (role of animals, circular images, ritual, mythology, Laguna cultural traditions, and use of oral tradition). (CM)

David, a 12-year-old without arms or legs, integrated himself gradually into the author's primary class through his determination to do a science project. Together, David, his father, and his teacher solved the logistical problems and built the apparatus David needed for full-time regular class work. (SJL)

Examines a corpus of narratives produced by preschool children, and focuses on differences among the three age groups with respect to: (1) complexity, (2) the relationship between story elements and the discursive context, (3) relationship between story elements and extralinguistic context, and (4) shaping of the narrative as story and as part of…

Notes that information presented in dialog form in a foreign language lends itself more easily to conversation than does intricate narrative prose. Using background information on Halloween, the article adapts the text to present information about the target culture as well as to humorously present facts about the North American festivity.…

Describes how narratives can stimulate children's play and how it is possible to create playworlds. Shows how cultural context has a positive influence on children's quest for meaningful action. Asserts that a child's imagination is captured by the narrative, which gives objects and actions their meaning. Maintains that when adults play roles and…

Investigated the effects of both pre-task and on-line planning on second language (L2) oral production. Results show that pre-task planning enhances grammatical complexity while on-line planning positively influences accuracy and grammatical complexity. Pre-task planners also produced more fluent and lexically varied language than the on-line…

Undergraduate creative writing students (n=41) and 40 student journalists (n=40) wrote sentences in response to photographs. Responses were then scored according to Burner's theory of Narrative and Paradigmatic Thought. Creative writers scored significantly higher than journalists on narrative thought. Male journalists outscored male creative…

Compares the effects of drama and discussion as planning activities for narrative writing in the second and third grades. Finds that writing quality of the group that used drama activities (developing individual ideas for stories through paired improvisations and role plays) was significantly higher than that of the control group. (SR)

Describes a discussion between Cleanth Brooks and Eudora Welty about the state of the story in today's fiction. Characterizes the narrative form as the spine of literature. Points out that, too often, contemporary writers neglect this form of writing and instead emphasize a type of prose poetry. Notes that authors today overemphasize the present…

Narratives from three studies were analyzed using seven variables hypothesized to measure a variety of language abilities used in narrative production. Results indicated that the variables represented global organization of content, and within- and across-sentence structure. Variables representing sentence structure were most effective as…

The relationship between specific narrative skills and social class was studied in a culturally and racially homogeneous sample (51 4-year olds), focusing on narratives of economically disadvantaged children. Children from disorganized, chaotic and disadvantaged households were most likely to produce minimal narratives that were poorly planned.…

Explores how agoraphobia is realized through the activity of storytelling. Analyzes one agoraphobic woman's narrative to articulate the narrative structuring of a panic episode, the grammatical resources systematically recruited to portray panic as unaccountable and the protagonist as irrational and helpless, and a recurrent communicative dilemma…

This article addresses issues in determining normal development of narrative skills in school-age children and adolescents. It considers the purpose and use of norms in this area and research on currently available norms. It focuses on difficulties in compiling norms, including children's wide ability range and effects of situational variables,…