Describes how a high school English teacher used the novel "Cold Sassy Tree" in an elective course entitled Thanatology: A Literary Approach. Notes that the novel clearly addresses virtually every aspect of death, dying, grieving, and loss through an artful array of three-dimensional characters. (RS)

Describes the author's experiences (starting in eighth grade) leading up to his teaching career. Discusses his reasons for continuing to graduate school. Notes that it was James Moffett--along with personal experience as a teenager and young teacher--who taught him to define English as an interdisciplinary subject. (SG)

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)

Suggests exploring the potential benefits of using audio books in social studies classes. Recognizes that literature used in a social studies classroom provides a context for actual events, rather than for literary experience. Presents five historical fiction titles on tape that may be appropriate to incorporate into social studies lessons. (SG)

Explains how book groups worked in a tenth-grade English classroom. Makes a case for "Making Lemonade" (a young adult novel about teenage pregnancy and poverty) as a compelling and provocative text for young adults. Notes that the school nurse visited the class to discuss the book. Addresses the nurse's unique contribution to the students'…

Addresses ways of developing a curriculum of caring that helps students connect themselves to others in ever-widening circles of understanding. Describes how, through reading and discussing Walter Dean Myers'"Fallen Angels" and Oleg Yermakov's "Afghan Tales: Stories from Russia's Vietnam," students come to see two unpopular…

Discusses the way Marie G. Lee, a popular writer of adolescent literature, grew up. Considers the effects of those experiences on her subsequent fiction. Focuses on the effects of racism on teenagers. (HB)

Notes that much of what students read in high school (both young adult literature and the classics) leaves them feeling sad and confused. Argues that teachers can balance that with windows of hope through literature. Offers examples from young adult literature for each of three categories of optimism. Discusses two young adult novels which…

Describes a course for high school English teachers and librarians about using young adult literature. Discusses (1) the rationales, goals and objectives for using young adult literature; (2) novels studied in the course; (3) students' ideas for integrating literature into the secondary English classroom; and (4) ways to dismantle barriers to…

Discusses the problems inherent in the teaching of young adult literature courses. Describes a collaborative project designed to allow preservice English teachers access to younger students to get a better idea of student reading interests. (HB)

Describes a unit taught in two middle school English classes, in which students wrote and illustrated their own adventure/journey folktales. (SR)

Describes a research study (prompted by a state board-of-education mandate for English teachers to teach values) in which selected reading, writing, and discussion activities focusing on values helped high school students to develop critical-thinking skills. Describes the discussion and writing activities and how they were related to two young…

Presents a summary of research done in the field of young adult literature from 1967 to 1992. Summarizes research done in areas such as methodology, booklists, author studies, critical analysis, social issues, reader response, and reading advocacy. (HB)