The Norwegian picture book "What a Girl!" (original title "Snill") by Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus was published 2011 and immediately gained a large audience. The book tells the story about a girl who always behaves in the ways expected of her: she never confronts her parents, her teacher or her classmates. This behaviour makes…

Presents critical interpretations of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" from four points of view: the feminist reading; the reader response reading; a realistic reading; and a historic reading. Outlines classroom activities and follow up activities to use along with the four interpretations. (PM)

"The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a remarkable piece of history and sociology, as well as a feminist story concerning the search for self. Written in 1890, the story, which closely parallels the author's own life, vividly chronicles a woman's descent into madness. Charlotte married an artist after a lengthy…

Notes that Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" provides an excellent example of the concept of multiple "reads." Discusses how in order to consider multiple readings the instructor must first incorporate the historical relevance of the story and what it meant to readers at its conception. Considers how students can have the feeling that they can have…

Presents junior and senior high school teachers' suggestions for short stories to read aloud in a single class period, including "The Laughing Man" (J. D. Salinger), "A & P" (John Updike), "Epicac" (Kurt Vonnegut), "The Story of an Hour" (Kate Chopin), and "The Yellow Wallpaper" (Charlotte…

Advises administrators to use their summers to relax and recharge their intellectual batteries. Reading suggestions include Edith Wharton's "House of Mirth," Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club," China Achebe's "Things Fall Apart," Paule Marshall's "The Chosen…

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a revolt against what she labels as "Androcentric Culture" where men have access to the world while women have access only to the home and where "the common humanity" of women has largely been ignored. Salvadore Dali's "The Object as Revealed in…

This sourcebook presents reading guides for 27 literary works frequently used by secondary school English teachers. The guides contain an overview of the work, a pool of instructional objectives for each work, a variety of activities, a series of discussion options, suggestions for evaluation, and annotated lists of related works. Included are:…

Examining how teachers help students respond to short fiction, this book presents 25 essays that look closely at "teachable" short stories by a diverse group of classic and contemporary writers. The approaches shared by the contributors move from readers' first personal connections to a story, through a growing facility with the…

Objective: We assessed the use of literature to illustrate a postpartum depression lecture. Methods: Medical students and faculty facilitators were surveyed after small group discussions. Results: Students' ratings and comments were positive, and faculty comments were neutral to positive. Conclusion: Students valued this teaching method, while…

This book challenges current paradigms of literature instruction by making a strong case for teaching critical theory in high school literature classrooms. The book urges teachers to expand their theoretical repertoires. It argues for the importance of multiple perspectives in enabling students to better read and interpret literature, as well as…