What to assign students to read in a literature course--or a writing course for that matter--is one of the core questions that faces those who teach English. This article imagines that the world itself is a text, and to teach students to become critically literate in the classroom has important consequences beyond it, arguing that English teachers…

AP Literature students participated in a series of real-time online discussions to complement the in-class conversations they were having about "The Autobiography of Malcolm X." Thus, the front channel was comprised of the students who were discussing the class text aloud, and the backchannel was the online conversation the rest of the…

Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is based on the premise that: (1) students can learn to use the reading strategies that more skillful readers use automatically; (2) students can engage in high-quality discussions about text with peers in heterogeneous student-led groups; and (3) structures and supports can act as a vehicle for equitable…

Huddled around a table, a group of English teachers eagerly discuss their chosen book club young adult novels. The authors appreciate that these texts explore how social injustice and inequity influence people's worlds. The novels invite teachers to consider the perspectives of those whose viewpoints and experiences differ from their own. With an…

This study introduced developmental adolescent readers to literature circles to balance literacy instruction based on students' needs. Providing students with the option to choose accessible novels to read, discuss, and connect with helps them experience the world of literacy as well as explore their own world in a way that most developmental…

Nonfiction texts demand critical literacy, as evidenced by these teachers' experience teaching Phillip Hoose's "Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice" with ninth graders. In addition to selecting high-quality nonfiction, the authors are committed to high impact teaching of those texts. For the authors that means supporting students'…

How teachers can use such materials as parallel-text editions, graphic novels, and film adaptations to increase students' understanding of and interest in Shakespeare was the impetus for a classroom action research project that examined the effects of teaching methods on student comprehension and engagement. The author of this article…

It's a common dilemma in many classrooms: Give your students an inch and they often take a mile. As teachers, they've probably all been in the situation where they want to encourage student participation and find a way to engage students in a particular text or topic, yet they err on the side of caution to keep the imagined mayhem at bay. Because…

The need to teach students strategies for handling the various nonfiction texts they encounter has never been more pressing than in this digital age. Growing up in this digital age, students have a tenuous grasp on the differences between fiction and nonfiction, which can result in a lack of critical thinking about important political and cultural…

This article discusses how reading for their own purposes affected struggling teens. It shares the authors' story, which demonstrates the importance and power of focusing on students' purposes, as highlighted in Standard 12, a standard not often addressed or assessed, but one that matters to students and teachers alike. The authors describe how a…

In her role as supervisor to middle school and high school student teachers, the author has observed dozens of students who avoid reading at every turn. She has also known frustrated teachers, daunted by the challenge of getting student readers up to speed. To better encourage a desire in students to read, she sets out to experiment with themes,…

In a thematic study she calls The Hero's Journey, the author introduces the classical archetype of the hero and the journey of the hero with Homer's "The Odyssey." After all, the wily tactician dreams up the idea for the wooden horse trick, thereby winning the war for the Greeks. He visits hell and, against all odds, makes it back. He defeats the…

This article describes an instructional lesson the author developed to help students use parody to read and write original poetry. The author begins this article with an introduction to parody and a rationale for using it as an instructional strategy. Then, he describes materials and procedures he used and he shares samples of student writing. He…

In this article, the author describes her experience in teaching, how she encouraged students not to see books as mere academic obstacles and thereby engaging them as literate learners in the process, and how she was intrigued by homework and how it plays into existing inequities in the classroom. The author also shares some tips on how to…

There are three strategies for critically evaluating information on the Internet: (1) examining initial markers (superficial characteristics of a website that can help make an initial judgment); (2) corroborating information (looking to other trusted sources to verify information); and (3) determining author bias (analyzing the author's intent for…