Getting students to read is a common problem in many secondary English language arts classrooms. Many teachers continue to assign only classic literature with novels that have been traditionally used in English language arts classrooms because of the belief in timelessness. There is evidence that the use of young adult literature in the secondary…

At Springfield Technical High School (Massachusetts) tenth grade students are required to spend three six-week periods in writing laboratory classes. As the students write, the teacher moves from student to student for short conferences, checking with each student twice during each class period. Students proceed in a three-step process and are…

Lists the literature selections included in packets for use in journalism classes entitled "Personality Sketch,""Newswriting,""Informative Feature,""Interpretive Writing,""Personal Experience,""Sports,""Editorial/Opinion,""Letters,""The Critical Review,""Humor and Satire,""Readings for Women,""The Family,""Education,""Photography,""Words and…

Describes the efforts of a college English department to redesign its English curriculum. Includes a curriculum outline and descriptions of specific courses. (AEA)

Describes curriculum review at the State University of New York, Oswego, where faculty and administrators tried to develop an English major that would preserve the best traditional practices and institutionalize innovation. Concludes that curriculum revision would not have moved forward without the Modern Language Association-Fund for the…

Gives advice for the beginning teacher. Concentrates on the qualities of thought and habit, especially hope, that one should bring to the teaching profession. Notes that schools can be horrible places where people, both teachers and students, behave horribly. (HB)

Provides an extensive narrative describing how the full-time English faculty at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, developed a successful advanced writing requirement. (HB)

Considers the benefits that professional, "real world" writing instruction can have in the English classroom. Describes the objectives, methods, curriculum, and results of a graduate seminar entitled "Writing for the Public." (HB)

Describes how one teacher continued to teach after becoming pregnant, even though this was against school policy. Reminds teachers that Henry Thoreau claimed it is moral to disobey an immoral law. (HB)

Presents various ways to use quotations in the classroom to stimulate student thinking and introduce new curriculum topics. Suggests that students can construct posters or journals of their favorite quotations, or even create their own proverbial phrases and generalizations. (MDM)

Gives a report on the activities of the ALAN workshop at the 1991 convention of the National Council of Teachers of English. Briefly discusses the activities of 14 young adult authors at the conference who shared the backgrounds for their novels. (HB)

Describes the realities of current state of the teaching of William Shakespeare in U.S. schools. Compares these realities with the philosophy of teaching of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. Shows how the Folger Library's education program resonates with their proclaimed philosophy. (HB)

Provides an account of a class discussion of the poem, "Grace" by the Native American writer Joy Harjo. Describes how students systematically investigated the meaning of the title. Asks teachers to use Native American poetry more and provides sources of such works. (HB)

Outlines three ways that literary theory has been brought into the English classroom over the past decade. Describes in detail the innovative model for curricular change used by the English department at Carnegie Mellon University in the 1980s. (HB)

Recounts the process and narrates the steps taken by the English department at Ursinus College, Pennsylvania, in its major renovation of its outdated English curriculum. Describes the working conditions of the department and the newly devised curriculum. (HB)