The teaching of literature is not well understood in American schools, nor has there been any major change in conceptualizing secondary school literature instruction in the past 25 years. In addition, study of how students come to understand literature parallel to the study of the writing process is almost nonexistent. For the past few years, Judith Langer has been developing an underlying theory for the teaching of literature based on her study of the nature of literary understanding. Her studies show that during reading, there are a series of relationships the reader takes toward the text: (1) "being out and stepping into an envisionment"; (2) "being in and moving through an envisionment"; (3) "stepping back and rethinking what one knows"; and (4) "stepping out and objectifying the experience." Readers' understanding of literary texts seems to be constrained by their notions of human (or imaginary) possibility, while their understanding of non-literary texts seems to be constrained by their perceptions of the topic. The notions of stances and orientations toward meaning provide useful guidelines for teachers to use in support of students' processes of "coming to understand." (RS)