The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and Their Readers

by Blau, Sheridan D.

• ISBN13: 9780867095401
• ISBN10: 0867095407
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-02-10
• Publisher: HEINEMANN (T)

Summary

In this groundbreaking book, Sheridan Blau introduces the literature workshop as the most effective approach to solving many of the classic instructional problems.

Author Biography

A past president of NCTE, a member of the National Writing Project Task Force, and teacher of literature for two generations of students, SHERIDAN BLAU directs the South Coast Writing Project and the Literature Institute for Teachers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is a senior faculty member in the departments of English and Education.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: Principles for Practice	1	(19)
Part I. Teaching and Learning Literature: Understanding Tradition, Rethinking Practice
Stories from the Classroom: Lessons on Learning Literature	20	(14)
From Telling to Teaching: The Literature Workshop in Action	34	(26)
Part II. How Readers and Texts Make Meaning
Which Interpretation Is the Right One? A Workshop on Literary Meaning	60	(19)
The Problem of Background Knowledge: A Workshop on Intertextual Literacy	79	(18)
Part III. How to Talk and Write About Literature
Where Do Interpretations Come From?	97	(26)
What's Worth Saying About a Literary Text?	123	(28)
Part IV. Writing Assignments in Literature Classes: Perennial Problems and Provisional Solutions
Writing Assignments in Literature Classes: The Problem	151	(13)
Writing Assignments in Literature Classes: Models for Solutions-in-Progress	164	(23)
Part V. The Foundations of Literary Knowledge
Honoring Readers and Respecting Texts: Value and Authority in Literary Interpretation	187	(16)
What Do Students Need to Learn? The Dimensions of Literary Competence	203	(16)
Works Cited	219	(10)
Index	229