Louise Rosenblatt differentiates between two reading transactions: efferent reading, or concentrating on the information in a text, and aesthetic reading, a holistic process by which the reader "lives through" a text-world event. Current research in the whole language approach to reading instruction attests to the growing stature of…

Suggests that viewing aesthetic reading as a process whereby readers and writers attempt to "make contact" and collaborate in making meaning forces one to adopt research strategies that go beyond measuring reading comprehension, and offers two studies to illustrate these ideas. (JC)

Describes one teacher's reading aloud a Paula Danziger novel to motivate a group of adolescents to think and respond critically to read-aloud fiction. Includes examples of discussion strategies used to help students judge word play, recognize different points of view, and evaluate the author's ability to relate to her audience. (ARH)

The six articles in this focused journal issue are concerned with literature teaching on the secondary and college level. The titles and authors of the articles are as follows: (1) "Aesthetic Reading and Teaching: 'Candide' Revisited" (Michael G. Gauthier); (2) "Discovery: The Role of Subjective Response in Initiating the Literature…

The humanist position for the teaching of values can be turned against English teachers and literature education when it is based primarily on the assumption that literature directly portrays life, a strategy which was used by a religious fundamentalist group, Renaissance Peterborough, in its dispute with officials of Peterborough County, Ontario,…