Many American schools are incorporating some form of English for the workplace into the curriculum. Workplace English extends traditional course work by introducing work-related reading and writing formats (memoranda to supervisors, letters to customers, and proposals for improving company effectiveness) and providing literacy skills needed in…

Describes how the author uses text-based virtual environments to connect his students to a course. Details his experiences with this innovative technology to explore the development of critical thinking and discussion with high school students. Defines a "MOO" as a text-based virtual environment, a sort of sophisticated chat room…

Presents a read-aloud from Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary." Discusses briefly the novel and the selection, and then describes specific activities for English and for language arts instruction. (SR)

Details an English teacher educator's struggle with his implicit part in prejudice during his high school years. Notes that the literature curriculum of English classes at that time represented a white perspective on the human experience. Contends that the study of diverse literature affords students the opportunity to become socially conscious.…

Notes that even specific journal writing assignments tend to elicit intimate feelings and expressions from students. Notes that English teachers often question their ability to respond in positive ways to such intimacies. Argues that English teachers should learn about legal implications, response options, and their own individual values to…

Describes a poetry teaching method in which prereading strategies are used to spark interest and focus on those devices students are expected to learn. Presents samples of poems students wrote imitating devices in the model. Notes that, although not all students became fans of poetry, they developed an appreciation for the poet's task. (RS)

Describes a literature instruction method in which at any one time about half of the students read independently whereas the other half participate in one of two study groups. Discusses how the initial plan was modified. (RS)

Describes one American Literature class' experiences upon studying the writings of Henry David Thoreau. Emphasizes the importance of student "carryover" of skills and information previously learned. (RS)

Presents an approach used in high school English classes to connect students with the world outside high school. Encourages students to take risks by selecting a project topic, choosing and inviting a guest speaker, preparing for the visit, reading and writing on related topics, and doing a follow-up project. (SR)

Discusses a pair of books (Annie Dillard's "An American Childhood" and Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts") that are well-written, discussion-worthy, and sufficiently alike in content that they can be taught in tandem for comparative purposes as part of a contemporary-literature unit. (RS)

Describes a poetry assignment in which students select a poem to analyze and present before the class. Observes that unlike the traditional postures of detachment and impersonality, this approach of self-selections encourages students to establish an intimacy with poetry. (MM)

Describes a poetry-presentation assignment in which students select poems from examples studied in class and prepare oral presentations incorporating visual, dramatic, technical, or musical arts. Describes several student presentations resulting from this assignment. (MM)

Considers 1 student's responses to literature assigned to a 10th-grade English class in the midwest. Asks if students can be expected to "decontextualize" their personal responses to literary texts. Questions the viability of such decontextualized readings. (HB)

Uses "Romeo and Juliet" to show how high school teachers can teach complex literary texts in nontracked classrooms by building background knowledge and teaching self-monitoring strategies. Explains strategies such as text previews, story impressions, prereading plan, thinking aloud, self-questioning based on story grammar, and reciprocal…

Describes the challenges and joys of teaching English at Oak Hill School in the remote rural community of Elmer, Louisiana. (SR)