Students in the English Language Arts classroom have access to more author commentary than ever. While following authors on social media may deepen students' engagement with their assigned reading, it also threatens to subdue students' own interpretations of the authors' texts. This essay explains how educators can introduce basic aspects of…

In November 1959, John Howard Griffin, a white novelist from Texas, struck up a conversation with a black shoeshine man near the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. The two men were acutely aware of the chasm that separated races in the Jim Crow South, but their relationship would soon change. Griffin, who wanted to obtain a deeper…

In this article, the author demonstrates how students can use biographies in developing their own personal strengths of character. Because biographies raise issues in context, they provide excellent material for thinking about character traits. Books like those discussed in this article show how people living in actual situations made decisions…

Known for her commitment to excellence in education, Sharon Draper was named National Teacher of the Year in 1997. In 1994 her first novel, "Tears of a Tiger", was published, and since then she has written more than fifteen books for middle and high school readers. "Tears of a Tiger" received the John Steptoe Award for New Talent, and her novels…

Very often science is taught in schools devoid of the people and events behind the research. Yet there is much that can be discovered about the nature of science when we examine the lives of scientists. Recently I read James Watson's "The Double Helix" and Brenda Maddox's biography of Rosalind Franklin, "Rosalind Franklin The Dark Lady of DNA." It…

The year, 2005, is the bicentennial of this great children's writer. What better time to teach his timeless tales? Andersen was born April 2, 1805, in Odense, Denmark, to a poor cobbler father and washerwoman mother. Andersen felt misplaced and believed that he was destined for greatness; he would be a great writer, an acclaimed poet, a person of…

This textbook is a reader intended to develop children's taste for classic, diverse works. In addition to providing a definite and flexible method for teaching beginners to read, effort has been made to include only material that may justly be called classic and that have held up under repeated school use. Care has also been taken to present a…

This sourcebook provides brief biographies of 65 popular children's nonfiction authors. Each profile focuses on how authors go about writing information books by giving a firsthand account of the challenges and rewards of nonfiction writing. Each biography provides a selected bibliography of the author's work, a photo, and a message to the student…

After offering biographical background about Beverly Cleary, one of America's most popular children's authors, this book summarizes each of her novels, also noting illustration credits and any awards received by the work. The books are grouped by setting and/or age appropriateness. Settings of Cleary's life, which later became settings for her…

Discusses the development of African-American literature for young people. Describes the setbacks resulting from cutbacks of federal funds for schools and libraries, as publishers cut back on materials they did not consider marketable. Suggests bibliographic resources for discovering works for children by or about African Americans. (DK)

A biography for elementary school students of a 19th century American Indian physician and author, Charles Alexander Eastman (Sioux), includes photographs of Dr. Eastman and his wife. A teacher's guide following the bibliography contains information on the Sioux Uprising of 1862 and the Wounded Knee Massacre, learning objectives and directions for…

Presents two separate interviews on one topic. William Styron and James West discuss West's biography of Styron from the vantage points of subject and biographer. Styron reveals some of the painful incidents in his life and West delineates how these have influenced Styron's work. Includes several photographs. (MJP)

Reviews 10 children's books for history instruction in elementary social studies. Topics range from the history of chimney sweeps, to Vietnam War stories, to writers' autobiographies. Lists bibliographical resources for locating other books that teach history through literature. Suggests student autobiographical and research projects. (CH)

Intended to be used as a resource guide, this book provides educators with information about writers and artists whose backgrounds and works reflect the diversity of our society. The guide includes 39 authors and illustrators who celebrate their diversity of cultures. These subjects represent a variety of minority and ethnic groups but have in…

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans focuses on practical suggestions for addressing the works of women authors in the English/language arts classroom at elementary, middle-school, and secondary levels. The 57 lesson plans in this book cover lessons on gender equity,…