This article describes a community action student- led project that features authentic writing and engagement to increase motivation. The article highlights important instructional strategies for implementing community action projects and the resulting student learning. The article concludes with the authors' reflections and observations.

In this article, the authors share what they learned from their study of writing communities, which they refer to as writing groups, during the 2017-18 school year. The authors propose a conceptual framework for writing groups that engages students in the process of designing and participating as writers with their peers. The framework emphasizes…

"Transcendentalism" refers to philosophical, religious, and literary beliefs held by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Amos Bronson Alcott, and other writers in New England during the 1830s and 1840s. Emerson believed in the significance of one's intuition and individuality. He expresses these beliefs in his…

The feeling of voicelessness creates a sense of internalized powerlessness for students in their schooling and preparation for learning and success. The San Joaquin Valley is surrounded by farms as well as correctional institutions and service industries. Each of these industries is interconnected with students' lives, with some having family…

This article discusses one teacher's efforts to give their students a mentor text for a persuasive, research-based writing project. The author's shift from assigning predominantly fiction to focusing more on nonfiction came as a result of their efforts to help their students move from students' current writing style -- that of a five-paragraph…

Through a case study of a seventh-grade ELA teacher, this article examines New Literacies pedagogy and more specifically a digital video project amid high-stakes testing pressures that often place limitations on teaching and learning.

"Oedipus Rex" dramatizes a collision of past, present, and future. Once Oedipus recognizes the connection between the past and his horrific present, he stabs out his eyes, ashamed at what he has wrought and unwilling to look upon his future. The 21st-century English language arts classroom is in the midst of a collision as well. Coming into…

Describes how Anna Deveare Smith's "Fires in the Mirror" can be adapted for the secondary level language arts classroom. Describes a storytelling exercise, and then describes the six stages of the project as students adapted personal narrative for performance: theme; obtaining the interview; the peer-editing workshop; preparing for the…

Describes how students in the author's eleventh-grade American literature classes, in groups of three, brought a book, short story, literary character, or historical epoch to life by capturing its essence on video. Suggests these student-produced literary documentaries crossed many disciplines and engaged students thoroughly, while engendering a…

Offers 50 diverse suggestions intended to offer students new ways to think about a piece of literature, new directions to explore, and ways to respond with greater depth to the books they read. (SR)

Discusses the power of film and films as teaching tools. Describes how the 1987 French film "Au Revior Les Enfants" can serve these purposes. Discusses its historical context, and ways to show the film in class. Lists numerous topics (on important film themes, and on technical aspects of film) for student projects. (SR)

Discusses 10 obstacles a teacher might encounter when incorporating technology into the classroom. Argues that with technology, like any other teaching strategy, teachers just need a few strategies that work for them, which they vary and adapt as needed. Lists some small, medium, and large projects using technology in the English classroom that…

Describes a year-long project for seventh graders that incorporates all aspects of language arts. Relates how the project culminates in a videotaped dramatic production of student writing. (MM)

Describes a number of class activities and student projects that the authors have used to teach the language and literature of peace in seventh- and eighth-grade reading and language arts classes, via theme-based units, interdisciplinary projects, and original theatrical student productions that celebrate language and literacy through the arts.…

Describes an ongoing partnership between a high school English teacher and two elementary school teachers. Discusses dividing the semester into three sections (relationship building, activities, and final projects). Outlines how the partnership started, the activities involved, and benefits to teachers and students. Argues that the partnership…