reader-response criticism

"In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders guides the reader through seven classic Russian short stories he's been teaching for twenty years as a professor in the prestigious Syracuse University graduate MFA creative writing program. Paired with stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, these essays are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times"--Provided by publisher.

Presents techniques and tools designed to improve the ways students in grades three through eight think about reading-based writing, and motivate them to write the rest of their lives.

Twenty-one essays describe the use of literature discussions, or "story talk, " in elementary classrooms, covering tools such as book clubs, the role of the teacher in conversations about books, and other modes of literature exploration such as art and journaling.

A collection of essays by Robert Scholes which explore the craft of reading and argue that once someone masters the art of reading they are responsible for the readings they produce and the texts they choose to read.

Presents teaching activities and reproducible pages on nine genres or subgenres of literature: poetry, biography, autobiography, reports of information, realistic fiction in a modern setting, historical fiction, folk literature, mystery, modern fantasy and science fiction.

The author discusses how to use sketching in the classroom as a strategy for understanding literature, and shares her thinking as a teacher about this learning method.