Outlines a study unit on women's changing roles in American history. Notes that this unit can supplement school textbooks with information not readily available on women in history. (MM)

Presents several teachers' recommendations for short-story anthologies to use in junior-high or high-school English classes. (MM)

Describes a course organized in terms of an "exploration of narrative," in which students read and write stories grounded in their own and other students' lives and concerns. Asserts that students' stories are an avenue for the students' various home communities to intersect with the culture of schools. (MM)

Outlines a course which uses dominant metaphors to connect the arts (particularly art, music, and literature) and which features discussions and student response journals ("thought-logs") to tap the pattern-perceiving potential of the right brain. (MM)

Recounts one teacher's use of art in the poetry-writing classroom, and suggests that its success stems from the following elements: schemata for seeing, experience with poetry, individual choice of art and poetic form, an encouraging environment, time to look and think and feel, and a powerful subject. (SR)

Describes how, in an American literature survey class, the characteristics of literary periods are underscored by seeing them reflected in contemporary visual arts, via a creative writing assignment, and by cooperating with the local museum. (SR)

Describes using the art and music of Impressionism to approach Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage," enabling students to understand how Crane's series of vivid episodes and brilliant but detached images melt into one another, forming a whole picture. (SR)

Offers 17 exercises combining writing and painting, each with its own theme and goal, and all designed to show that close observation is fundamental to the effectiveness of both visual and verbal expression. (SR)

Describes the author's teaching of satire as it evolved from a small part of a literature course to a semester-length course, valuing written and oral literature. Explains how technique has become central, and analysis has become a meaningful preliminary to students writing their own satires. (SR)

Advocates using the satiric interview style, popularized by the comedy team of "Bob and Ray," as an ideal model for satire writing at the secondary level. (MM)

Explains how Louis D. Rubin's theory of the "Great American Joke" (the gap between our cultural ideal and the everyday facts of American life and society) can be used to help students understand humor in an American literature unit. (SR)

Outlines several writing activities inspired by "Mad" magazine which incorporate humor, satire, and critical thinking. (MM)

Advocates incorporating humor in the classroom (as a means of assessing students' learning and understanding) by deliberately establishing a classroom environment conducive to original expression and risk-taking, and by the juxtaposition of curriculum material. (SR)

Makes a plea, in the form of an open letter to a teacher, for patience with a learning disabled child, and for accommodation of his ability level and learning style and speed. (SR)

Proposes that reluctant writers' motivation can be enhanced by using a simple writing format, by allowing students to write in areas of strong interest, and by giving much reassurance. Stresses that success in an endeavor is essential to motivation and achievement. (SR)