Communicating effectively is a skill that must be taught and practiced--and the act of listening is a large part of this skill. According to the "International Journal of Listening," listening skills are imperative to reading comprehension and are valuable enough for "38 out of the 51 government entities to include listening skills as part of…

In this article, the author offers a user-friendly approach to semiotics that engages students in critical examination of the popular culture they are already immersed in. She defines semiotics as "the study of signs" and explains how asking students to analyze cultural objects and practices from ordinary life and popular culture can engage their…

Novice teachers often find themselves isolated; they are often assigned students with the most difficult challenges, with no mentor, and without professional learning to further develop the skills they began to acquire as student teachers. It is important to disrupt the institutionalized isolation of the novice teacher (Darling-Hammond and Sclan;…

This article focuses on writing instruction and seeks to: (1) define the expectations of first-year composition (FYC) programs; (2) consider the factors shaping high school writing instruction; and (3) explore the gap between the goals of each. The authors have interviewed secondary writing teachers and college first-year composition instructors…

Implementing multimedia in the high school language arts curriculum has become necessary so that teachers may build connections between the background knowledge of students and the printed texts that are thrust upon them. This idea comes from an area of research in cognitive science known commonly as schema theory, which contends that every…

Based on the various metaphors we use to describe the work of teaching, high school teacher Jeremiah Hill articulates a new model--the teacher as creative professional. Hill urges educators to transform the "culture of teaching" by moving away from traditional expectations for classes and embracing connections that we discover among disciplines.

Offers tongue-in-cheek rules for being a humorless English teacher. (RL)

A former high school teacher raises pedagogical and ethical questions about teaching and writing with the help of a story of a student. The ways in which the conventions of teaching and writing can be learned are discussed.

A veteran teacher with over 35 years experience, the author reflects on the events of September 11, 2001, and how the events of that day demonstrated that teachers fulfill many shifting roles in their students' lives. Here, he shares his own feelings of profound sadness for all the victims on that day, and discusses how the roles of teachers often…

Describes how a teacher energizes his teaching by participating in a writing group consisting of three other English teachers from another school district. Discusses how participation in the writing group counters the alienation of the classroom. (RS)

Offers a plan whereby teachers write parents end-of-school letters about students who were excellent, who had made good classroom contributions, or who had made academic turnarounds. Considers this plan an effective means of improving parent-teacher relationships. (RL)

Describes opportunities and activities for a short unit on the yearbook inscription, one that contains information on cliches, anecdotes, persona, character development, and familiarizing students with various reference books. (RL)

Presents a conversation between the teacher of a first-year college composition course and a high school English/language arts teacher regarding what they do in the college composition course. Offers students' insights and suggestions about how they might most effectively be prepared for such a course. (SR)

Discusses the dilemmas faced by middle and high school teachers whose students are struggling to read, yet whose training does not prepare them to solve this problem. Describes the Reading Initiative, a program that will support teacher development through study groups to help teachers improve both the teaching and learning of reading through…

This article relates the experience of Mrs. Vernon, who teaches two sections of an English course at her high school, and has evaluated her high- and low-track students based on cultural and social groups. She uses these evaluations to shape her expectations for the students' academic performance, their future life goals, and her daily method of…