Describes the way one English teacher used newspapers together with works of fiction to demonstrate the relevance of literature to daily news items. Shows how students were able to discover "news links" between today's newspapers and John Steinbeck's novel, "The Pearl." (HB)

Describes the activities in a high school English class aimed at instructing students concerning the concept of "historical fiction." Outlines class activities in which students are asked to write fictional narratives based on the historical facts concerning the sinking of the "Titanic." (HB)

Describes and analyzes the composition textbooks, or first books of compositions, all written between 1838 and 1855, which were all markedly different from the best-known writing texts of the period. Provides a broader account of how writing was taught in the mid-nineteenth century in America. (HB)

Responds to an article in the same issue by Ann Ruggles Gere entitled, "Kitchen Tables and Rented Rooms: The Extracurriculum of Composition." Gives two examples of "extracurricular" readers and writers that have been neglected by historians: African-American literary societies and community-based writing groups. (HB)

Considers the emergence of English Romanticism in the early 19th century as the advent of new ways of thinking and knowing. Compares the cognitive skills of romanticism with the development of adolescent cognition. Shows how English teachers can tailor literature instruction to foster the insights of romantic understanding. (HB)

Reviews and critiques a new writing textbook by LaRene Despain: "Writing: A Workshop Approach." Considers especially the types of writing assignments advocated and the kinds of skills needed for researched argumentative essays. (HB)

Considers what makes up the sensibilities and personal traits of a writer. Describes how one writer learned to express herself through a particular writing workshop. Outlines the reasons writers write and lists some tricks of the trade. (HB)

Describes the sensibilities and temperament that make a successful, daily writer. Questions why writers write. Attempts to define what it is that makes a writer write. (HB)

Describes one key goal of writing instruction as being to help students develop successful rituals in their writing processes. Compares two kinds of writers: Beethovians and Mozartians, or discoverers and planners. Relates these two groups to writing instruction, and suggests a combination as a third group. (HB)

Provides an account of the recent right-wing backlash in the United States against trends in higher education. Traces the continuing "crisis in English" to historical origins of humanities as a sequestered enclave. Suggests that this conflict will largely determine the future of English instruction. (HB)

Outlines the contradictions inherent in the conservative agenda supporting both the traditional literary canon of instruction and an aggressive promotion of vocationalist modernization. Discusses the connections between these two initiatives and offers an example of a practical alternative to both. (HB)

Discusses the novel "Web of Dreams" by Virginia Andrews, a favorite among many secondary students. Considers the book as subject for secondary English study. Claims that the novel defies most teacherly prejudices about formula writing. Provides detailed criticism of the novel. (HB)

Considers the proper definition and function of essays as topic of English instruction and as preferred mode in which students are assigned writing tasks. Tries to "denaturalize" the essay by thinking about how it has come to occupy such an esteemed position and the meaning of such esteem. (HB)

Discusses ways in which literary theory supports and encourages innovative ways of looking at texts. Indicates evidence of cross-fertilization between theory and pedagogy. Argues that this should be fostered and encouraged. Provides numerous examples of how theory informs instruction constructively. (HB)

Questions the death of the author and of authority and, by implication, the theoretical erasure of the authority that constitutes the student writers that teachers face in the classroom everyday. Proposes a dialogic model of authority that infuses authority with an "ethic of care." (HB)