Describes a technique for defusing protests against books assigned as classroom reading. Demonstrates how to justify a modern book by comparing it to books of the past. (RBW)

Reviews 11 new young adult novels. Suggests that too many works in this genre glamorize adolescent problems instead of dealing realistically with them. (RBW)

Describes several classroom exercises designed to make film grammar and narrative structure clear to the student. (RBW)

Suggests the need for research in the following areas: (1) the continued use of inappropriate approaches to teaching language skills; (2) the lack of required student participation in volunteer work within the school or community; and (3) the lack of organization in school systems to facilitate the ongoing collection and organization of data for…

Discusses the meaning of teacher excellence and offers some reasons why excellent teachers are in short supply. Suggests steps to improve teacher quality and performance. (RBW)

Links the teaching of contemporary folklore with writing instruction. Finds that the study of folklore can help students learn to write well and to think analytically. (RBW)

Describes the effect the teaching of a unit on contemporary folklore had on a high school English teacher and her students. Suggests that within each student is a wealth of untapped information that can be used as a basis from which to explore different kinds of writing and which can lead to new ways of looking at literature. (RBW)

Discusses the activities and accomplishments of a high school English teacher during a year's sabbatical leave. (RBW)

Recommends adding formal training in note taking to the high school English curriculum to help students master the skills of abstracting major ideas from texts, summarizing facts, and paraphrasing materials. Suggests an approach to note taking. (RBW)

Analyzes Flannery O'Connor's early short story "The Crop" and relates its thematic struture and characterization to her later work. (RBW)

Recounts the disruptions, conflicts, and general hostility that resulted when the position of English department head was eliminated in an attempt to save money. (RBW)

Reviews Rosemary Sutcliffe's "The Sword and the Circle," a contemporary reworking of the Arthurian legend. Suggests that it fails by comparison with the versions of Tennyson and Malory because it depicts Arthur as a pawn of magicians rather than a duly elected leader working with his subjects to create a just society. (RBW)

Describes a technique used to involve a class of predominantly learning disabled students in a lesson on the uses of the comma. (RBW)

Suggests five important but seldom asked questions that can direct a reader's attention to some basic properties of literature. (RBW)

Discusses objectives that can be accomplished through the study of proverbs. Suggests a number of exercises involving proverbs that can be used to improve reading comprehension and hone writing skills and to develop a vocabulary. (RBW)