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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 321 262 CS 212 412 AUTHOR Phelan, Patricia, Ed. TITLE Literature and Life: Making Connections in the Classroom. Classroom Practices in Teaching EncTlish, Vol. 25. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-2962-5 PUB DATE 90 NOTE 178p. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 29625-30,70, $7.50 member, $10.50 nonmember). PUB TYPE Books (010) -Collected Works - General (020) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Class Activities; Classroom Techniques;Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Learning Activities; Literature; *Liteiature Appreciation; *Reader Response; *Reader Text Relationship; Reading Writing Relationship; Teacher Developed Materials; Theory Practice Relationship IDENTIFIERS Aesthetic Reading; *Literature Instruction ABSTRACT This book presents findings of a cross-section of teachers, elementary through college, who have developedways to enable students to make connections between their livesand the literature they read. The 28 articles are groupedinto:(1) a section on the collaborating and creating connection with literature;and (2) a section on the reading and writing connection with literature.The articles are as follows: "Making Connections throughLiterature" (C. J. Nolan, Jr.); "Developing the Social Consciencethrough Literature" (P. Smagorinsky); "Connecting with Literature:Activities for 'The Cay' and 'The Bedsnread" (V. L. Olson); "Using Journalsand Small Groups to Explore Literature" (J. S. Mink); "Poetryto Engage the Person" (N. Gorrell' "'Stopping by Woods ona Snowy Evening': A Classroom Experiment in Literary Response" (M. A. Delia);"Making Sense of Poetry through Constructing, Collaborating,and Imitating" (J. Golub); "Literature on the Screen: FilmAdaptations in the Classroom" (P. S. Gardner); "The Dinner Party: How toBreathe Lifq into Literature" (C. C. Livingston); "Portraying andInterpreting Litc:ature through Art" (J. Hamilton); "The SophoclesConnection" (M. Cobb); "Drama as a Way into Poetry" (E. Komar);"Moral Dilemmas and 'Death of a Salesman'" (E. K. Barron and D. N. Sosland);"The Reader's Work: Learning through Enactment" (R. Jenseth);"Ambiguous Texts in Teaching the Reading of Literature" (M.B. Mandel); "Students and Literature: Intimate Friends" (M. H.A. Morrissey); "Engaging Students with Literature" (R. A. Grusko);"A Marriage of Form and Content: Teaching 'Twelve AngryMen'" (K. Hogarty); "Using Junior High Readers' Poetry Preferences inthe Classroom" (K. Kutiper and R. F. Abrahamson); "Deconstructingthe Multiple-Choice Test" (T. McKendy); "Cowboys, Cowgirls, andLiterary Criticism" (A. Sherrill); "Listening: An Invitation to Literacy" (W.R. Clark); "Action Books as Story Retelling Prompts" (G. Bohning); "Writing Poetryin Response to Literature" (P. B. Turk); "Style from theInside Out" (P. P. Kelly); "Creating Text: Students Connectingwith Literature" (L. Christenbury); "Helping Students Discover Their Private Texts" (L. Perkins); and "An Approach to Critical Writing: Beginwith Contradictions" (J. Bean-Thompson). (SR) "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY J MA KwELL, Tr THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." L E THIS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "ED BY Office of Educational Reeemch and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) O This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality !ACES Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocu- I." merit do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy Literature and Life NCTE Committee on Classroom Practices in Teaching English Patricia Phelan, Chair, Crawford High School, San Diego, California Nancy D. Broz, Allen Middle School, Haddonfield, New Jersey Beverly A. Busching, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Car- olina Carlota Cardenas de Dwyer, Clark High School, San Antonio, Texas Kent Gill, Holmes Junior High School, Davis, California Jackie Proett, Davis, California Faith Z. Schullstrom, Guilder land Central School DistrEct, Guilder land, New York, ex officio Michael Spooner, NCTE Staff Liaison Literature and Life Making Connections in the Classroom Classroom Practices in Teaching English, Vol. 25 Patricia Phelan, Editor, and the Committee on Classroom Practices t6 National Council of Teachers of English 1 1111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 ---) ..J r- td NCTE Editorial Board: Richard Abrahamson, Celia Genishi, Richard Lloyd- Jones, Raymond Rodrigues, Brooke Workman; Charles Suhor, chair, ex officio; Michael Spooner, ex officio Cover Design: Carlton Bruett Interior Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design Staff Editor: Michelle Sanden Joh las NCTE Stock Number: 29625-3020 © 1990 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts.Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 85-644740 6 Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 I The Collaborating and Creating Connection with Literature 1. Making Connections through Literature 7 Char!' J. Nolan, Jr. 2. Developing the Social Conscience through Literature 13 Peter Smagorinsky 3. Connecting with Literature: Activities for The Cay and 19 The Bedspread Vicki L. Olson 4. Using Journals and Small Groups to Explore Literature 27 Jo Anna Stephens Mink 5. Poetry to Engage the Person 35 Nancy Gorrell 6. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening": A Classroom 45 Experiment in Literary Response Mary Alice Delia 7. Making Selise of Poetry through Constructing, 53 Collaborating, and Imitating Jeff Golub 8. Literati: re on the Screen: Film Adaptations in the 59 Classroom Peter S. Gardner 9. The Dinner Party: How to Breathe Life into Literature 67 Chella Courington Livingston v 1-1 4 vi Literature and Life 10. Portraying and Interpreting Literature through Art 71 Jill Hamilton 11. The Sophocles Connection 77 Mary Cobb 12. Drama as a Way into Poetry 81 Elizabeth Komar 13. Moral Dilemmas and Death of a Salesman 83 Eva Kafka Barron and David N. Soslana II The Reading and Writing Connection with Literature 14. The Reader's Work: Learning throug:i Enactment 89 Richard jenseth 15. Ambiguous Texts in Teaching the Reading of Literature 97 Miriam B. Mandel 16. Students and Literature: Intimate Friends 103 Maureen H. A. Morrissey 17. Engaging Students with Literature 109 Robin Auslander Grusko 18. A Marriage of Form and Content: Teaching Twelve Angry 113 Men Ken Hogarty 19. Using Junior High Readers' Poetry Preferences in the 121 Classroom Karen Kutiper and Richard F. Abrahamson 20. Deconstructing the Multiple - Choice Test 129 Thomas McKendy 21. Cowboys, Cowgirls, and Literary Criticism 135 Anne Sherrill 22. Listening: An Invitation to Literacy 141 Wendy Rodgers Clark 23. Action Books as Story Retelli ig Prompts 149 Gerry Bohning Contents vii 24. Writing Poetry in Response to Literature 15) Penelope Bryant Turk 25. Style from the Inside Out 161 Patricia P. Kelly 26. Creating Text: Students Connecting with Literature 165 Leila Christenbury 27. Helping Students Discover Their Private Texts 171 Leroy Perkins 28. An Approach to Critical Writing: Begin with 175 Contradictions Janet Bean-Thompson E.or 181 Preface This year the Committee on Classroom Practices chose to issue a call for manuscripts that would help students "interact with literature and make it their own." We were concerned with successful classroom practices that encourage students to make connections between lit- erature and their own lives, to encounter the richness of ideas and variety of values which authors past and present have shared with US. After our November 1987 meeting, the call for manuscripts was issued in the major NCTE journals. By September 1, 1988, we had received seventy-eight manuscripts. These manuscripts, with authors' names removed, were evaluated by committee members Carlota Cardenas de Dwyer, Beverly Busching, Nancy Broz, Kent Gill, and Jackie Proetta committee representing several geographic areas and grade levels. Twenty-eight manuscripts were finally selected and submitted to the NCTE Editorial Board for approval to publish. All the contri- butions represent exemplary classroom practices that enable students to connect literature and their own lives in a variety of ways. The committee hopes this volume will provide fresh ways of approaching literature at all grade levels, from kindergarten through college. ix 1.m Introduction The title of this volume presupposes that we place a high prior ity on helping students read fine literature and share their own experiences with those of the author. Rosenblatt says, "The reader brings to the work personality traits, memories of past events, present needs and preoccupations, a particular mood of the moment, and a particular physical condition" (1976, 30). As teachers, we believe that m...king connections is at the heart of real education. Of what use are an author's ideas if we cannot make our own meaning from them, test the ideas against our experience, and see how they relate to our picture of the world? In the