Award-winning storyteller Dianne de Las Casas offers a primer on how to tell a spooky story, with 25 tales organized by age appropriateness and tips on how to effectively tell each tale. In Scared Silly: 25 Tales to Tickle and Thrill, Diane de Las Casas shares the methods and processes she uses in her own performances, workshops, and artist residencies, including how to effectively encourage audience participation. A brief section explains the benefits of sharing scary stories and offers expert opinions on the subject. The 25 stories included here, many of them storytellers' classics, can be used by elementary teachers, librarians, storytellers, and camp counselors. The tales are adapted from around the world and range from suspenseful to comical to thrilling. Each story is annotated with suggestions on how to tell the tale, and each is rated by a "Spook-O-Meter" that illustrates how scary the story is for what audience it's intended. Grades 1-5. Includes 25 stories appropriate for children in grades 1-5 A "Spook-O-Meter" illustrates how scary each story is for what audience it's intended

'The Heavenly Twins,' written by Sarah Grand, was a novel that shocked its late-Victorian audience, but which still remains largely unheard of today. Grand's novel, quite polemical in its time, addressed ideas of female sexuality and education, among other topics. Grand herself meant the work to be predominantly didactic, always stressing that it is most often what a woman does not know that can most hurt her. Throughout the work, Grand makes constant references to items of her period, some literary, some political, some even scientific. It is these allusions that give the novel an additional richness and depth; needless to say, readers unfamiliar with the many references may overlook any wit or wisdom Grand has intended to impart with their use. Until now, no critical edition of 'The Heavenly Twins' has existed. The annotations within are not only meant to serve as a reading companion to Grand's work but, it may be hoped, will lend to a further understanding of the world from which the author is writing from.

This book presents findings from the Reading First Impact Study, a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's $1.0 billion-per-year initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110) established Reading First (Title I, Part B, Subpart 1) and mandated its evaluation. This evaluation is being conducted by Abt Associates and MDRC with RMC Research, Rosenblum-Brigham Associates, Westat, Computer Technology Services, DataStar, Field Marketing Incorporated, and Westover Consulting under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The present book is the first of two; it examines the impact of Reading First funding in 2004-05 and 2005-06 in 17 school districts across 12 states and one state-wide program (18 sites). The book examines program impacts on students' reading comprehension and teachers' use of scientifically based reading instruction.

The postmodern force resembles a violent gushing torrent that washes away almost every man-made artifact of modernity. Literacy education and research, without exception, have been profoundly influenced by this force. The project of critical literacy seems revolutionary and ambitious. It claims to be critical, empowering, and emancipatory. Hence, the central concern of this book is: can critical literacy within the postmodern framework justify its claim? Are there any criticisms of postmodernism? What is lacking in it? Is there an alternative? How does this alternative paradigm address and overcome the limitations of postmodernism? How can critical literacy be critical, empowering, and emancipatory within the alternative paradigm? And what does this alternative paradigm imply in relation to literacy pedagogy? These and other questions are explored in this book. The analysis should be accessible and helpful to those who are interested in the theoretical grounding for critical literacy. Literacy educators will also find the discussion of pedagogical implications useful in informing their practices.

This book provides an analysis of issues of gender in beur (French-born people of North African descent) literary texts and films, its basic contention being that gender is a crucial element in the construction of beur identity. Focusing on the literary and cinematic devices adopted in order to describe and define beur female identity, this study shows how the texts under examination provide effective reinterpretations of Western texts and canons that would be impossible without a deep knowledge of the originals. The use and reinterpretation of autobiographical narration, fictional narration in the third person, multivocal and polyphonic narration, prove that beur literary texts can be inscribed plein titre within the Western literary tradition. A similar approach is adopted for cinema, stressing the elements of continuity that tie beur films to the colonial production as well as to the postcolonial non-mainstream production of the second half of 20th century.

The Woman Question served as a catalyst in Kate Chopin's, Nella Larsen's, and Willa Cather's portrayal of the eroticized female body. The question evolved, in part, from Herbert Spencer's 1873 article "Psychology of the Sexes" and centered around Spencer's "theories" on woman's nature, her function, and her differences-biological, sexological, and sociological-from man. Chapter one historicizes the Woman Question by examining its influence in these three areas. Chapters two, three, and four analyze one novel by each author. Chopin's The Awakening introduces the literary study because it operates as a transitional text challenging the Cult of True Womanhood while simultaneously introducing the sexualized New Woman. In Larsen's Quicksand, the New Woman is conceptualized within a black female body, a body that boldly confronts racist notions of woman. Lastly, Cather questions heteropatriarchal hegemony through her eroticized, feminized landscape in O Pioneers . Although each author develops her heroine differently, all three construct strong female characters who energize the Woman Question debate, forcing a re-examination of it in ways ignored or unrealized before.

"To give symphonic shape to verbal narrative"--this was the main target Anthony Burgess set for himself before writing the Napoleon Symphony. Himself being a composer, music played a prominent role in his life, and Burgess did not separate these two fields of art, rather tried to approximate them as much as possible. Burgess never deterred from experimenting, he was famous for his strong and original linguistic power with which he wrote his novels. One of his main sources for inspiration was music. In this book the author examines two novels, A Clockwork Orange and the Napoleon Symphony from Burgess's oeuvre from a special point of view. The book presents how music and especially how symphonic structure appear in the two novels and in Burgess's art. Can music teach anything to a novelist? What is a postmodern writer might learn from this art? These questions are being answered in this book.

The Length of Light reflects the predicament of everyday choices in life. The enigmatic gap between ordinary people and their dreams is dramatized in scenes that reveal severed roots, patriarchal intrusions, socio-economic impositions, inhuman cultural values, and hostility. Yet the redeeming qualities of each character give hope and faith as they hold on to their insurmountable will to survive. In their diverse themes and tenors, the narratives demonstrate a critical examination of a world in which most people, against their wishes, are chosen by the paths they follow: Kaito, the protagonist in Sirens puts his family in debt to achieve his desperate desire to migrate to the United States. He is, however, shocked to realize that America is far from the place he imagines it to be. Soka, in the story Idu, is on the other hand, haunted by a cultural belief she dismisses: she encounters the very mythical story she rebuffs, and in the process, history becomes her story.

Drug, alcohol, sex, relationships, togetherness, loneliness, literature, obscenity, homosexuality, wandering, homelessness, art, thousands of corrupted angels, freedom, limitation, liberation, friendship, poetry, a movement. The spell that Beat literature still casts upon us originates in the elementary: our human wish for being free from human limitations. Is spiritual liberation a state that can be reached at all? Howl has the answer in it. After presenting a historical, social and literal glimpse into the era of the American Beat generation, this book offers a guide to the Beat bible that is Howl by Allen Ginsberg. The main motif along which the work analyzes Ginsberg's poem is spiritual liberation. Though apparently the Beats seem to be free from for example society, it is quesionable whether they could find their wished state of perfect freedom. The spell of Ginsberg is especially powerfull in our world of apparently no limits where all the fights had already been fought instead of us. If only we could be our own freedom fighters, too.

Crime stories offer a great opportunity to observe gender confrontation in the issues of identifying and interpreting facts, and the questions of justice and morality. How women and men interpret actual situations is influenced by their learned behavioural patterns that subscribe to their stereotypical roles defined by their social realities, which inherently generates presumptions and the imposition of pre-existing patterns on the other gender. By examining Susan Glaspell's Trifles, the works of Wilkie Collins and Agatha Christie, and 21st century adaptations of Miss Marple, it can be seen, that women and the concept of trifles are linked in detective literature. In these crime stories female and effeminized characters are associated with definite personal characteristics, attitudes and behaviour, because of gendered stereotypes and culturally ascribed roles. Stereotypical gender differences are comprehensively presented in these works, and they illustrate the evolution of the concept of the female detective triggered by the changes in stereotypical gender roles.

Virginia Woolf's works and extraordinary figure not only made her known and respected as one of the leading Modernists of her time, but she also proved to be an exciting challenge for Postmodern literature and art. Reinterpretations and adaptations of her works have emerged, most importantly the adaptations of her novel Mrs Dalloway, which have contributed to a great extent to Woolf's growing popularity among the larger audience. This short study analyzes the most important Mrs Dalloway-adaptations, these being Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours and Stephen Daldry's film version based on it. Further on, it explores the relations between the elements that link Virginia Woolf, her Mrs Dalloway and both the novel and the film The Hours together, with emphasis on the representation of women. This work will hopefully convey useful information for those who are interested in the so-called Woolf-studies and for those who are fond of adaptations.

The present research paper may be an excellent guide for those readers who are interested in John Fowles' outstanding narrative techniques and unique view of life. His well-known book The Collector brings together two totally different world-views and unique elements in many ways. Thus, this book has the aim of providing a general analysis of the Fowlesian art, covering different themes and topics, as well as writing techniques. As most of the authors, Fowles also puts 'himself' in his books in different ways, like dreams, concerns and emotions, which also serve as a point of analysis of this research paper. The odd relationship between the author and the film version of the novel, as well as the filming process are also examined in the book. As Fowles' outstanding book enchants the readers from page to page, thus this book does the same by providing an overall analysis on the unique world created by John Fowles.

This resource offers a series of grade-appropriate lessons that link storytelling in the classroom with the development of essential language skills. Literacy Development in the Storytelling Classroom shows just how powerful a tool storytelling can be for building vital language skills-not just reading and writing, but speaking, listening, visual literacy, and information literacy as well. It is an exceptionally rich and rewarding resource that helps teachers and tellers work together to focus story time on language development. Moving grade-by-grade from pre-K to middle school, Literacy Development in the Storytelling Classroom offers both research-based ideas and specific lesson plans for using storytelling to promote literacy learning. Lessons seamlessly integrate material from traditional domains of social studies, science, math, and language arts, while incorporating elements from the creative arts, such as music, visual arts, drama, dance, and folk crafts as both storytelling vehicles and curriculum extensions. The stories themselves in this collection are drawn from the full spectrum of the world's cultures-every child is represented, and every child will benefit from the concepts and lessons in this remarkable book. Specific lesson plans for each level from pre-K to 5th grade Contributions from a variety of professional educational storytellers and teachers who use storytelling in their classrooms Photographs of children engaged in storytelling lessons as well as original children's art and additional diagrams and charts An extensive bibliography of print, multimedia, and online resources on both the theoretical basis and practical applications of classroom storytelling An appendix of national standards and abbreviations

Deleuze's film philosophy takes Italian neorealism as the inaugural moment of modern cinema: the cinema of the time-image. Although many see neorealism as innovative in terms of its social content, Deleuze emphasizes specific qualities of the cinematic image in neorealist films. Examining four exemplary neorealist films by Rossellini (Roma citt aperta), De Sica (Ladri di biciclette), Visconti (Bellissima) and Fellini (Le notti di Cabiria), Kelso illustrates and explains why Deleuze sees this as such a pivotal moment for the cinema. In turn, Deleuze's philosophy allows one to see these films in a new light. From the perspective implied by a philosophy of becoming, the political and social agendas of neorealist films are not evaluated according to either their reflection of given historical/social realities or retrospective judgements regarding the efficacy of their politics. Instead, the political and aesthetic import of the films is shown to be a direct consequence of their ability to restructure perception and to revitalize thought, even at the expense of traditional modes of cinematic enunciation.

This is the story of Maggie, in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Since several different versions of Maggie exist on page, stage and screen, this essay investigates the step by step changes and improvements in the shaping of one of the main characters. The 1974 drama version of Maggie was picked and analysed in details while the character was then compared to her versions among them the one in the famous 1958 film. This is done partly with the help of the appropriate quotations. Through this work a very profound insight can be gained into the working method of the author, how he shaped and formed the character of Maggie. It highlights how Maggies personality had to be altered in the film and what were the reasons for that. The conclusion emphasises how sympathetic she initially was and how even more likeable she became in later versions. This work may appeal to those interested in the working process of a playwright, who love this play of Williams and for anyone caring for literature.

Promote some of today's best and most popular YA books-both fiction and nonfiction- with these ready-to-use booktalks and creative learning extension ideas. Whether you are a public or school librarian, teacher, or teen group leader, you'll find this guide helpful in motivating teens to read, and keeping them engaged. It features background information on the books, booktalks, and related activities for more than 100 titles released between 2003 and 2008, but focusing especially on those published in the past 3 years. New to this volume are indicators for titles with strong appeal to teen boys and teen girls, as well as those that cross genders in their appeal. Grades 6-12.

The aim of this book is to present the biggest wonder in life - birth. But though one should think about life-birth at this point, the emphasis will not be on this kind of conception. Two kinds of creation are shown in these novels. In Frankenstein it is the scientist who would like to bring to life a creature, while in Brave New World society uses cloning to determine the number of inhabitants in society. Another similarity can be mentioned that these two methods simply leave out women of creation, men want to achieve their goal without women as partners. Why do they desire so? Why is it so important to attain the capability of creation solely by men? Nowadays, the two novels are mentioned together as the possible-near-future. And also the question arises: can human play the role of God?

This volume offers ready-made, standards-based, academically sound lessons and activities based on Coretta Scott King Award winning books. Teaching Literacy Skills to Adolescents Using Coretta Scott King Award Winners has everything teachers need to create lessons in core subjects using the very best of young-adult literature. It offers a rich compilation of classroom-proven reading, writing, and vocabulary activities for promoting strong literacy skills in adolescents. Each chapter focuses on a Coretta Scott King Award winner, offering a selection from the text, a biographical sketch of the author, complete bibliographic information, an annotation, suggested grade level, and discussion questions. These are followed by a series of research-based reading and writing strategies for the book, plus activities in a reproducible format, all targeted to middle or high school grade levels. In addition to chapters on individual titles, the book includes an introductory section that explores the purpose and legacy of The Coretta Scott King Award, as well as the latest developments in literacy research. Comprises individual chapters on prestigious Coretta Scott King Award winners Offers complete bibliographic data for each title Includes reproducible standards-based lessons ready for classroom use Presents vocabulary lessons that actively engage students

The essays in NEW MEDIA/NEW METHODS: THE ACADEMIC TURN FROM LITERACY TO ELECTRACY pose an invention-based approach to new media studies. Representing a specific school of theory emergent in graduates of the University of Florida and working from the concept of electracy, as opposed to literacy, contributors present various heuristics for elaborating new media rhetoric and theory. NEW MEDIA/NEW METHODS challenges literacy-based understandings of new media, which typically pose such work as hermeneutics or textual interpretation. Rather than grounding their work in hermeneutics, contributors rely on heuretics, or invention, to outline new modes of scholarly discourse reflective of and adapted to digital culture. Contributors include Ron Broglio, Elizabeth Coffman, Denise K. Cummings, Bradley Dilger, Michelle Glaros, Michael Jarrett, Barry Jason Mauer, Marcel O'Gorman, Robert Ray, Jeff Rice, Craig Saper, and Gregory L. Ulmer. ABOUT THE EDITORS JEFF RICE is Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Campus Writing Program, at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the author of THE RHETORIC OF COOL: COMPOSITION STUDIES AND NEW MEDIA (Southern Illinois University Press, 2007) and the textbook Writing ABOUT COOL: HYPERTEXT AND CULTURAL STUDIES IN THE COMPUTER CLASSROOM (Longman) as well as numerous essays on new media and writing. He blogs at Yellow Dog (http: //www.ydog.net). MARCEL O'GORMAN is Associate Professor of English at the University of Waterloo and Director of the Critical Media Lab. His published research, including E-CRIT: DIGITAL MEDIA, CRITICAL THEORY AND THE HUMANITIES (University of Toronto Press, 2006), is concerned primarily with the fate of the humanities in a digital culture. O'Gorman is also a practicing artist, working primarily with physical computing inventions and architectural installations.

If woman was already considered a baser being in medieval English literary culture, then what explains the monstrous women--part-animal, or magically-empowered--who function as typical romance heroines? If the monstrous women simply dramatize the conventions of medieval misogyny, then why do so many of them found dynasties, establish empires, and fill the royal seats across Europe with their offspring? A closer look at the figures of Constance, Medea, and Melusine in 14th, 15th, and early 16th-century English narratives reveals how metaphorical female monstrosity functions as a critical lens that allows authors, and audiences, to reflect on and re-examine misogynistic conventions, patriarchal authority, and the romance formula itself. Arguing that the Middle English romance constructs new possibilities for fiction, this study uses recent scholarship on monster theory and medieval women to theorize the presence of these monstrous women in medieval romance, discovering how they trace the formulation of a distinct gender ideology and expose the flaws of a literary rhetoric that, in defining the female as Other to the normative male, makes women into monsters.