This study brings into conversation two bodies of research that operate from different assumptions and make divergent conclusions about high school students' capacity to read and respond to literary texts. On one hand, cognitively-oriented expert-novice research comparing experienced literary readers to high school students indicates that students…

In this visual essay, drawing on worlding as method evokes attunement to being, becoming, and belonging through ordinary experiences and affects, where we tell multimodal stories framed by theories and practices that offer reconsiderations of the arts, pedagogy, and scholarship as praxis. Contextualized by youth subcultures, porous visual…

In this article, Kate Collins begins by explaining how she discovered that "Hamilton: An American Musical," a Broadway show that incorporates a mix of musical genres: hip-hop, jazz, classic show tunes, and show-stopper numbers based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, could be brought into her teaching as a rich resource for her high…

This article explores using spoken word poetry and song analysis in the classroom to inspire students to analyze their identities and strive for social justice in their research efforts. Poetry is empowering. It can show students how people express themselves, push them to consider their own identities, and inspire them to seek social change.…

Many teachers are finding that weaving in examples from current movies, television, music, and popular fiction makes their lessons come alive for students. A clip from "The Daily Show" or rap lyrics can be vehicles to talk about politics and poetry. Pop culture is what students talk about in the hallways, so why not harness that interest and…

There is an educational disconnect between students' individual backgrounds and the instruction that they traditionally receive in school (Darling-Hammond 3). This division is even more severe for black, Latino/Latina, and economically underprivileged students, who often lack the support, experience, or resources to fully engage in…

This study investigates the collaborative composing processes of a group of five high school seniors who constructed interpretations of each of the five acts of Shakespeare's Hamlet through the medium of spoken word performances. The group composing processes were analyzed to identify how the students drew on conventions from the spoken word…

The extent to which our students, and indeed we, are manipulated by popular culture and a normative perception of an ideal way to be is an issue of increasing import. The changes we make to our teaching to engage students in this issue must be conducive to meaningful learning and subsequent academic achievement. The changes we make are based on…

Although the number of calls to integrate Hip-Hop culture into school curricula is growing, little attention is being paid to the reluctance of teachers and administrators to forge relationships between the cultures of school and of youth. This article explores some of the difficulties inherent in the relationships between Hip Hop and schooling,…

As a teaching artist in public schools, the author is paired with classroom teachers to teach poetry and to give students an opportunity to experience their academic curriculum through the arts. At the beginning of the school year, she gave her students the on-going, yearlong assignment to watch the news, to pay attention. Knowing many of them…

In this paper, the author looks closely at two spaces where students engaged in practices and forms of cultural production with transformative possibilities. Specifically, the author sought out spaces where youth came together for one of two important purposes: to cross boundaries of difference or to affirm and re-imagine identities. The two…

This article builds upon the concept of hybridity to affirm the relevance of poetry, music, and other forms of popular culture in the lives of urban youth. Its focus examines the blending of seemingly disparate forms to understand how young people, in particular young people of color, negotiate their multilayered social worlds. One of these worlds…

Slam poetry was born in the Green Mill Tavern, a one-time Chicago speakeasy where Al Capone imbibed, when a construction worker and poet named Marc Smith revolutionized poetry readings with an Uptown Poetry Slam in 1986. Slam borrows heavily from the rhythms and wordplay of rap and hip-hop, as well as the stream of consciousness and metaphysical…

This document is a compilation of the four issues in the 23rd volume of "Classroom Notes Plus." Each issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. The August 2005 (v23 n1) issue includes: Sharing Responses to Literature via Exit Slips (Barb Wagner); Letting Learners Teach…