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)

Describes the diversity of spoken English in high school classrooms in America. Advocates coming to terms with matters of language diversity. Suggests ways that this might be accomplished. (HB)

Gives an overview of the global issues concerning the English language. Provides an account of the authors' personal international experience and how it affected them. Considers recent efforts to teach English in a global context. (HB)

Describes a conferenced writing program in a suburban St. Louis high school. Asserts that this kind of instruction is not merely the utopian ideal of writing teachers but a method that can and should be implemented in all schools. (PRA)

Describes a method of teaching literature to high school students that employs an opinionnaire that students use to respond to a literary work prior to discussion. Relates personal successful uses of this method. (HB)

Suggests several high school writing assignments with civic themes. Includes assignments on the Iowa caucuses, the political and economic future of Iowa, and city-administrator government. (RDS)

Considers the difficulties inherent in developing a system of assessment through examination of student learning in Great Britain's A-level English literature instruction. Outlines the process of developing such a system as undertaken by the two appointed cochief examiners in 1986. (HB)

Describes how one high school English teacher used humor when teaching Shakespearean tragedy. Describes how this improved students' attitudes and appreciation of the tragedies, helped them appreciate literature devices in the plays, and helped them review prior to their exam. (SR)

Describes how high school students can give J. Alfred Prufrock (from T.S. Eliot's serious poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock") a "makeover" so he can acquire more self-confidence. Shows how this makeover exercise can lead students to a deeper general understanding and appreciation of complex literary characters and of a…

Describes how one high school English teacher uses puns on a regular basis to augment his vocabulary reviews. Argues that doing so aids in developing students' vocabulary, since it compels students to pay closer attention and gives many students a chance to display their creative-thinking skills. (SR)

Discusses issues related to young gay and lesbian students in high school English classes. Offers two examples of addressing gay issues in class, and discusses reading and writing around gay issues. Lists several strategies English teachers can use to reduce stereotyping and create an open environment for self-exploration and expression around…

Delineates what is "the high school viewpoint" for an experienced K-12 educator who has been a teacher, a department chair, an instructional specialist, a staff developer, and a regional school district consultant. Gives her view of "the basics" concerning literacy. (PA)

Argues that Barbara Kingsolver is one of the fresh new American voices whose work could find a comfortable niche in the curriculum canon for high school literature classes. Describes her novel, "The Bean Trees," determining that it is an extremely "teachable" work. Outlines opportunities the book offers in terms of themes,…

Describes how three pen strokes made by an English teacher 30 years ago (on a high school composition paper penned by the author's husband) prompted the author, an English instructor, to examine her own teaching and grading. (SR)

Studies how experienced teachers of literature created a sense of continuity and coherence in a curriculum over relatively long periods of time. Finds that although the classrooms created a stable set of domain conventions, similarity in broad topics and goals within the curriculum masked great diversity at the level of classroom practice. (NH)