Traces history of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills (originally Clearinghouse on Teaching of English) from 1967 to 1979 at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Highlights include starting operations, three functions of an ERIC Clearinghouse (acquisitions and selection, information analysis, user services),…

Presents three assignment sequences--covering both canonical and noncanonical stories, mini-anthologies, and novels--that encourage secondary school students to think critically about the concept of literature. Notes that students can learn to analyze literature critically by comparing both canonical and noncanonical texts. (MM)

Presents an approach to teaching Pierre Boulle's novella, "Face of a Hero," in which students produce their own "Cliffs Notes" for the text. Stresses the importance of using nontraditional literature, and shows how students can discover their own richer responses to literature instead of relying on study aids. (MM)

Presents an approach to teaching John Milton's "Paradise Lost" in conjunction with Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." Notes that a study of these works stimulates vigorous discussions on theological and moral issues, human nature, and the cultural past and future. (MM)

Outlines a one-semester course on mythology and the Bible. Notes that the course focuses on a reader-response approach to literature, and combines experiences with art and dance as well as with literary texts. (MM)

Discusses how to incorporate videotaped productions of Shakespeare's plays into the English classroom. Describes three specific ways of using video to complement the literary text. (MM)

Describes existential elements in three novels for adolescents: "The Crazy Horse Electric Game" and "Running Loose" by Chris Crutcher; and "God, the Universe and Hot Fudge Sundaes" by Norma Howe. Asserts that adolescent literature in an advanced-placement English class can connect the classics to the present. (MM)

Describes a humanities program for senior high school basic classes. Notes that the course covers Greek drama, poetry, art, classical music, and Shakespearean plays. Asserts that giving lower-ability students a chance to study the classics makes them feel less alienated from the mainstream. (MM)

Explores the journal writing of Henry David Thoreau. Asserts that his journals are an excellent example of writing to learn. Notes that students can benefit from emulating Thoreau's approach to journal writing. (MM)

Describes a rationale and strategy for using the diaries of women authors in a course on women writers. Notes that this unit on women's diaries introduces students to women writers with whom they are unfamiliar, and also encourages students to read other works by these writers. (MM)

Describes a set of strategies for integrating journal writing into the English classroom, and suggests ways to evaluate students' journals. Asserts that these strategies have helped lead many students to lifelong writing. Provides a sample journal evaluation form for students. (MM)

Explores how high school students' reading logs reveal their reading processes as they read and respond to literature. Examines the reading logs from three eleventh-grade English classes throughout the school year. (MM)

Outlines Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," focusing on the structure of the novel as a classic hero's quest. Notes that this story of a Black woman's journey toward self-definition can stretch students' own horizons of possibility. (MM)

Describes several uses for computers in the English classroom, including word processing, typing practice, and networking. (MM)

Presents ideas about how to involve students in the evaluation of their own writing, including peer evaluation, self evaluation, and primary-trait scoring. (MM)