Writing about Literature
2nd Edition
Published on 18. February 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
104 pages
978-0-8141-3211-1 (ISBN)
Description
This book is intended to help middle and secondary school English language arts teachers integrate literature study and composition instruction.
Literary analysis and well-honed analytical writing skills are crucial for student success-in English class as well as on writing assessments and in other content area classes. Unfortunately, these skills are often taught separately from one another and students have a hard time making the connections between the two. Drawing on years of real classroom experience, this follow-up to NCTE's immensely popular Writing about Literature (1984) addresses the challenge many teachers face: How can we use writing assignments to deepen students' understanding of literature, while at the same time improve their writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills? A Theory and Research into Practice (TRIP) book, Writing about Literature, 2nd ed., Revised and Updated seeks to answer this question by first providing an overview of the key components of theory and research-including assessment, literary interpretation, composition, sequencing, and activity design-and then offering an extensive selection of practical activities to help students learn how to interpret literature, write compelling arguments, and support those arguments using evidence from the text. Specific activities include Exploring role models from To Kill a Mockingbird and The House on Mango Street, analyzing characters from "Everyday Use" and Huckleberry Finn, and interpreting love themes from Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare's sonnets. Featuring two dozen reproducible handouts and suggestions for adaptations, all of the activity sequences are designed to be used as a teaching tool-a model for teachers and students to use as they study other texts and types of literature.
More details
Series
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Urbana, IL
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 249 mm
Width: 203 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
275 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8141-3211-1 (9780814132111)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Larry R. Johannessen is a professor in the Department of English at Northern Illinois University, where he teaches in the English education program and literature courses primarily dealing with the Vietnam War. He holds a B.A. from California State University East Bay, Hayward, California, and an M.A.T. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He taught high school English and history for 10 years. In addition to chapters in books, he has contributed more than 70 articles to scholarly journals, including Research in the Teaching of English, English Journal, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Educational Leadership, The Clearing House, The Social Studies, Illinois English Bulletin, Virginia English Bulletin, North Carolina English Teacher, Arizona English Bulletin, The Wisconsin English Journal, and Classroom Notes Plus. With Thomas M. McCann, he is the coauthor of In Case You Teach English: An Interactive Casebook for Prospective and Practicing Teachers (Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2002). He coauthored Talking in Class: Using Discussion to Enhance Teaching and Learning (NCTE, 2006). He is a coeditor of Reflective Teaching, Reflective Learning (Heinemann, 2005). He is author of Illumination Rounds: Teaching the Literature of the Vietnam War (NCTE, 1992) and coauthor of two popular NCTE publications: Writing about Literature (NCTE, 1984) and Designing and Sequencing Prewriting Activities (NCTE, 1982). He is listed in Who's Who Among America's Teachers and Who's Who in American Education. He has collaborated with Thomas M. McCann and Bernard Ricca on research about the concerns of teachers during their formative years of teaching (Supporting Beginning English Teachers: NCTE, 2005). For this work, McCann, Johannessen, and Ricca earned NCTE's 2006 Richard A. Meade Award for Research in English Education. He lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with his wife, Elizabeth.