Building on the groundbreaking research of the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media & Learning initiative, this book crosses the divide between digital literacies and traditional print culture to engage a generation of students who can read with a book in one hand and a mouse in the other. "Reading in a Participatory Culture" tells the story of an…

The young adult novels of Alex Sanchez belong in every high school English classroom and media center. With compelling plots and significant themes, Sanchez's six novels create numerous rich learning opportunities for students. In this article, the author describes how Sanchez's novels on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender themes can be…

Describes one teacher's insights into the fictional works, and especially the characters, created by the British novelist Jane Austen. (HB)

Examines the 21 most commonly used novels in English classrooms in Quebec, Canada. Finds that 86 percent of the novels were written by men, 82 percent of the main characters were men, and that female characters were more submissive than men. Notes that a qualitative analysis demonstrates the same gender bias as the quantitative results. (RS)

In providing a rationale for the use of "Grendel" in high school English classes, this paper presents explanatory material demonstrating its appropriateness, beginning with a discussion of "Grendel" as part of a course in major or contemporary works of literature. The second section of the paper illustrates the use of the novel…

Gives an overview of how one English teacher taught "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns. Emphasizes the novel's first-person narration and its themes of maturation. (HB)

Today's teachers bemoan the fact that their students, immersed in a media culture, appear to be uninterested in reading works typically assigned in traditional language arts classrooms. However, the incorporation of young adult novels has served to engage even reluctant learners with their young adult protagonists dealing with familiar themes and…

An upper school English program has been experimenting with ways to reinforce its traditional literary curriculum with contemporary works. Three contemporary novels in particular (Naylor's "The Women of Brewster Place," Walker's "The Color Purple," and Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz") have been found to foster a sense of continuity with the…

The author provides a personal account of the actions taken by several teachers at Naperville High School to individualize a traditional Freshman English course through learning modules and a credit/no credit grading system. (Editor/SJL)

Describes how an English teacher in a Queens, New York, ghetto school introduced her grade nine students to Charles Dickens's "Great Expectations." Focuses on students' responses, which eventually became enthusiastic, and discusses the use of classics within the curriculum. (KH)

Suggesting that many works by and about women are available, accessible, and necessary to balance the high school English curriculum, this book offers diverse selections from women writers and introduces practical ideas on how to integrate them into the curriculum. Multicultural and feminist, the book is intended for teachers already engaged in…

A survey of 21 of the 22 public and Catholic schools in Edmonton (Alberta) examined materials used in 10th-grade English classes. Teachers cited 1,698 titles, but a small number of titles predominated the lists, suggesting a clearcut "school canon." Includes discussion and tables of the most frequently cited novels, plays, films, short…