Purpose: This article reports on the practical application of Learning Elements advocated by the multiliteracies approach to classroom practice. Its ideas are grounded in the multiliteracies pedagogical principles of teaching and learning that address issues on literacy and learning in today's globalised world. The main objective of this study was…

Could you use a superhero to teach reading, writing, critical thinking, and problem solving? While seeking the answer, secondary language arts teacher Maureen Bakis discovered a powerful pedagogy that teaches those skills and more. The amazingly successful results prompted her to write this practical guide that shows middle and high school…

The authors, a ninth-grade teacher in a Special Education English class (Cheryl) and a teacher educator (Bucky), know of each other's work through a mutual interest in graphic novels. This article describes what happened in Cheryl's class when her students read "American Born Chinese" and discussed that text in a blog with its author, Gene Luen…

The Directed Reading Using Music Strategy (DRUMS) is a type of reading strategy that can lead to the teaching of reflective thinking skills, increased reading comprehension and vocabulary, along with increased motivation for learning. Research indicates that contemporary song lyrics aid reading comprehension and can be used as motivational text. A…

Book Club started over 12 years ago with the goal of creating an alternative context for reading instruction--one that would get students excited about reading and discussing books. Since then, Book Club's combination of excellent literature, relevant writing activities, and student-led discussion groups has proven effective in classrooms. This…

Intended for use with grades 5-12, this book offers 201 titles of carefully selected novels as an antidote to students' laments about history being boring--good historical fiction that animates the data found in textbooks. The book is an expanded and updated edition of an earlier publication and includes 86 new titles, as well as 40 titles…

This new edition of a guide which has made reading aloud a special pleasure for millions of people offers a chance for a new generation of parents, teachers, grandparents, and siblings to discover the rewards--and the necessity--of reading aloud. The guide provides an up-to-date annotated bibliography ("treasury") of more than 1200…