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The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and Their Readers
The Literature Workshop Teaching Texts and Their Readers Author:Sheridan Blau
Sheridan Blau is among the small number of writers who have really original things to say about teaching and learning. — - Gerald Graff
Sheridan Blau is a gem in the English teaching profession: a teacher-researcher and an innovative teacher who blows the lid off of traditional forms of literary instruction. — - Jeff Wilh... more »elm
I cant think of a more helpful book about teaching literature. Its sophisticated, subtle, and responsive to complex theory - yet practical and accessible.
- Peter Elbow
In this groundbreaking book, Sheridan Blau introduces the literature workshop as the most effective approach to solving many of the classic instructional problems that perplex beginning and veteran teachers of literature. Through lively re-creations of actual workshops that he regularly conducts for students and teachers, Blau invites his readers to become active participants in workshops on such topics as:
helping students read more difficult texts than they think they can read
where interpretations come from
the problem of background knowledge in teaching classic texts
how to deal with competing and contradictory interpretations
what's worth saying about a literary text
balancing respect for readers with respect for texts and intellectual authority
ensuring that literary discussions are lively and productive
how to develop valuable and engaging writing assignments.
Each workshop includes reflections on what transpired and a discussion of the workshop's rationale and outcomes in the larger context of an original and practice-based theory of literary competence and instruction.« less