Chinua Achebe is one of Africa's best-known and most influential contemporary writers. His first novel, "Things Fall Apart," is a narrative about the European colonization of Africa told from the viewpoint of the colonized people. Published in 1958, the novel recounts the life of the warrior and village hero Okonkwo and describes the…

In children's literature not many characters are shown as multidimensional human beings with strengths as well as weaknesses. Instead, both males and females display behavior and traits which reflect stereotypical roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Although there may be segments of society which are redefining gender roles, the female and…

Marking "Writer's Digest"'s upcoming 75th anniversary, this book presents a collection of the best writing instruction, advice, and inspiration written by famous and not-so-famous writers and published in the magazine from the 1920s to the 1990s. The 49 selections in the book are arranged chronologically and address: (1) selecting an…

Based on Erich Maria Remarque's novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" and other war literature, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that works of art about war can call up strong emotions in readers; and that the writing process can be applied to writing poems. The main activity of the lesson involves…

Based on Joseph Heller's novel "Catch-22," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that active readers evaluate the actions and statements of characters in a novel; and active readers apply the ideas of a novel to contexts outside the novel. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing a paper on a…

Based on Miguel de Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Quixote's misperceptions are understandable; writers often describe one object to sound as if it were something else; and metaphors help readers see with new eyes. The main activity of the lesson involves students…

Based on Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that active readers interpret a novel (its characters, plot, setting, and theme) in different ways; and the great literature can be and has been adapted in many ways over time. The main activity of the lesson involves students…

The social, cultural, and historical documents and commentary in this casebook illuminate the reading of "The Catcher in the Rye," a novel that has become an important rite of passage for many young adults. In addition to a literary analysis, the casebook acquaints students with the larger world in which Holden Caulfield, the…

Describes a stimulating one-day reading program in which 209 students divided into four groups according to their interests in a particular literary genre and spent an entire day reading a paperback in that category to each other. (RW)

Describes Latin American novelists as portraying the continent as torn by revolution and inflation, by anger and mounting expectations. Instead of denying the fictional qualities of this vision, the novelists transform this linguistic reality into the narrative itself. Only through fiction can the hidden realities of Latin American emerge. (DS)

Discusses ways to elicit the final project in a high school writing workshop--supplying the opening 20 to 30 pages of a novel. Examines student interests and writing styles in conjunction with the beginning pages of published novels. (RL)

States that Erich Kastner's novel "Der kleine Grenzverkehr" affords German teachers four approaches to bringing the culture of Salzburg into the classroom: geographical exploration; investigation of specific sights and sounds; historical-cultural search; sampling of specialities, shops, cafes. (EJS)

Questions the value of classic literature in teaching secondary school students to read for pleasure. Suggests that a better vehicle for the same goal is young adult literature like "The Outsiders." (TB)

Presents examples of how African novelists express their ideas on the restructuring of African economic orders and the social and political implications that emanate from them. Discusses the present state of the African economy reflected in the visions of these writers, and their visions of future socio-economic health of Africa. (JS)

Indirect object doubling is the use of the pronoun "le" with a corresponding noun phrase within the same sentence ("Le regalo el anillo a Karen"). Redefining pronominalization as verb agreement leads to hypotheses that explain the construction's use within discourse. Data from an Argentine novel shows correlations between…