The author takes the experience of book challenges as an opportunity for positive curricular changes by walking readers through the development of a formalized procedure for selecting new, diverse texts to add to the English Language Arts (ELA) program curriculum. The text-selection committee arrived at a six-step method: (1) Identify Desired…

This three-article dissertation examines the role of comics as a medium for developing anti-oppressive pedagogies with teacher educators and teacher candidates in English language Arts (ELA) and literacy education. Using methods of critical content analysis (Johnson et al, 2016), descriptive qualitative research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), and…

In this article, the authors describe how integrating music with reading and writing practices stimulated transmediation to (1) honor musical students' identities, (2) deepen readers' meaning making with literature, and (3) invite writers' memories to generate emotional grist for composing poetry. The authors share examples to inspire teachers to…

By exploring the uses of plain, middle, and grand styles, the author examines how theories of classical rhetoricians can be applied to Atticus Finch's speeches in "To Kill a Mockingbird." In the high school English classrooms the author has encountered, "rhetoric" has not been a focus or even a passing discussion. It forms the…

The nonfiction letter offers students an opportunity to study a dying art while also gaining insights about people, places, and eras. Teaching students the value of letters teaches community, caring, and connection. Whereas reading great works of literature can and does provide insight into life's purpose and meaning, the nonfiction text of a…

A national survey of senior secondary English curriculum content has confirmed that contemporary literature predominates among set texts, being seen as an "essential" category for study because of its "relevance" in helping students "understand the world in which they live." Perhaps uncontentious -- depending on the…

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 eight articles in this bulletin suggest methods of introducing classical literature into the English curriculum. Article titles are: "Ideas for Teaching Classical Mythology"; "What Novels Should High School Students Read?"; "Enlivening the Classics for Live Students"; "Poetry in Performance: The Value of Song and Oral Interpretation in…

Investigates how technology can be integrated into existing secondary English language arts curricula in ways that avoid the perpetuation of social injustice, withstand inequalities, and resist false commercial ideologies. Describes preservice English teachers' web pages constructed in response to E. Anne Proulx's novel "The Shipping…

This monograph consists of teaching guides for five junior novels: "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing"; "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH"; "Across Five Aprils"; "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"; and "Harriet the Spy." Each unit is intended (1) to enhance the creative process; (2) to foster cognitive development at the concrete operational…

This collection is composed of 16 objectives and evaluation items for Junior High School Literature, grades 7-9. It includes objectives on poetry and the novel. Each objective contains three elements: (1) the objective, (2) measurement items, and (3) means for judging the adequacy of the student response. Each objective is stated in operational…

Language arts course statements for grades 7 through 12 are presented in this curriculum guide. Content areas for each grade level are as follows: grade 7--reading, writing, and spelling, with certification required in reading; grade 8--reading, writing, and spelling; grade 9--writing, speaking, and listening, with certification required in each…