The secret to a good celebration is to involve as many students as possible and to give them genuine responsibilities and encouragement to be creative. Literacy celebrations offer students, and teachers, the opportunity to have fun and show off what they have learned during their deeper exploration of various literacy studies. The author conjures…

High school teacher Suzanne R. Kail and her students uncover the relevance of learning Latin and Greek roots to enhance vocabulary and spelling. Kail reflects on her experience of combining what might be seen as an old-school practice of memorization with promoting higher level thinking skills and anticipates what she will revise for the next…

Describes a project in a third-year Latin class in a high school in the Appalachian foothills in which students (1) identified and analyzed classical rhetorical devices in speeches by Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King Jr.; (2) used rhetorical frames; and (3) wrote their own speeches as part of a year-long writing exchange with senior-level…

Explains how a teacher, a Belizean of African descent who immigrated to the United States, feels about having grown up reading only Western literature. Explains the costs of such limited reading in psychological and emotional terms. Gives a brief review of a few well-known Caribbean authors, including Julia Alvarez and Jamaica Kincaid. (TB)

Lists and explains some suggestions that have proven useful in teaching classical literature, including (1) letting students hear the languages, (2) finding good translations, and (3) relating the works to more recent literature.

Describes a U.S. literature course and a comparative literature course that focuses on Asian, African, Canadian, Caribbean, and Latin American literature. Asserts that students need to be aware of the European impact on the U.S. identity, even where it is unpleasant. Discusses the magical realism in the distinct artistic vision of Latin America.…