Andrasick reveals a classroom in which literary intellectual rigor is always the goal, and the process is ever the means.
—The Quarterly

Opening Texts is a book for classroom teachers who have been frustrated by their students' inability to respond critically to literature. Without being prescriptive, Kathleen Andrasick offers a flexible model of a collaborative, interactive classroom that can be readily applied to a teacher's particular needs and students. She gives concrete examples of lessons and student work that show ways in which students can engage with literary texts and then distance themselves in order to act critically. She provides both theory and practice based on success with real students in real classroom situations.

Opening Texts is not a collection of formulas, but a presentation of the best we know about how readers and writers make meanings. It is written for secondary and college teachers who want a practical model for their classrooms.