Discusses how English teachers can work with other departments to promote interdisciplinary approaches to teaching. Describes sharing writing labs; producing television news reports; engaging in a school-wide theme week; an "academic" Olympic Games; vocabulary exercises in the social studies classes; mock trials; and a team-taught social…

The comprehensive approach to balanced literacy mandate relies on teachers understanding of the skills and strategies that reading and writing demands. State and city departments of education must look for ways to learn from the voices of English language art teachers.