Describes the challenges and rewards of working with Amy (an eighth-grade girl considered autistic) in a team-taught language arts class that functions in the workshop format and that includes learners with special needs. Describes Amy's progress and setbacks, and notes the importance of the workshop format for her progress and for her teacher's…

Describes how one eighth-grade teacher creates a safe, playful, literate environment for a four-week poetry unit which immerses students in the thoughtful, energetic, productive experience of poetry. Describes introducing poetry, setting up the unit, class activities, a wide range of requirements and assignments, and students' enthusiastic…

Describes an eighth-grade science class in a school primarily of Chinese immigrant students of many languages and levels of education, where what matters most are learning English; developing community; and starting from the students' experiences, questions, and troubles. Argues that real learning happens as students feel accountable for asking…

Describes how one 8th-grade English language arts teacher works to keep her students as the primary focus in her curriculum. Discusses how she uses a class council to connect with literature, discuss upsetting issues or incidents, and solve problems. Outlines activities that further the social and emotional learning component of her curriculum.…

Describes a successful oral history project in a United States history class with eighth-grade students from all over the world. Discusses four reasons why using oral history in the classroom is so effective. Describes a 12-step process for using oral history in the classroom. (SR)

Describes a month-long project in an eighth-grade English classroom in which students (from many countries, many of them immigrants) read an array of bicultural literature, and each researched, wrote, and compiled a many-faceted Family Tree notebook. Shows how students can achieve both their own cultural authenticity and English language…

Describes a project that connected eighth-grade readers and preservice English teachers via e-mail to see how they would create their own world of talking and thinking about literature. Offers 2 case studies that examine how these dialogues helped preservice teachers develop questioning, modeling, and assessing strategies. Concludes that e-mail…

Looks at how technology has changed an eighth-grade teacher's world of teaching and learning in a variety of ways, including: professional growth; connecting the writing process with word processing; presentation of information (such as short story elements or parts of speech); research on and access to the Internet; electronic literary magazines…

Reports on a study of stories written by eighth graders in three very different schools, stories carrying powerful messages about how girls understand their place in the world. Finds that, in one set of stories, females control their lives only as long as they are "good," and in the other set, autonomous female protagonists fail (often for no…