After sequestering myself in my home office for nearly four hours on a Saturday morning—using headphones and a closed door to counteract the distractions of domestic life—I emerge, over-caffeinated but relieved, announcing to my wife and daughters that I've graded 10 research papers, my quota for the day. "How were they?" my wife asks. "OK. … Continue reading Beyond the Research Paper: Exploring New Genres for Original, Authentic Inquiry by Jeremy Corey-Gruenes
A Fresh Look at Peer Response: Improved Writing and Talk That Hits the (Common) Core by Neil Witikko
The Students Five minutes have passed in third hour, and the students in Composition I are hard at work in teams of three and four. Most groups are scattered around the classroom, finding what privacy they can away from the other peer groups. One team of four is working just outside the door of the … Continue reading A Fresh Look at Peer Response: Improved Writing and Talk That Hits the (Common) Core by Neil Witikko
Crime and Punishment: An Evolution of the Narrative Techniques of Dostoevsky by Wes Schaller
The notebooks of Fyodor Dostoevsky have both complicated and enriched the analyses of Crime and Punishment. Whereas some writers may employ the notebooks to supplement and illuminate their ideas, others may regard them as irrelevant territory—not to be used within the realm of critical analyses. This dilemma will necessarily be addressed later on, for the … Continue reading Crime and Punishment: An Evolution of the Narrative Techniques of Dostoevsky by Wes Schaller
Making Dostoevsky Relevant: Teaching Notes from Underground to College Freshmen by Heather Porter
Relatively little has been said regarding how to teach Dostoevsky’s novels to students. Even less has been said about how to make his work relevant to twenty-first century American students who exist within an entirely different cultural landscape than the characters of Dostoevsky’s fiction[1]. Notes from Underground is particularly challenging, but its difficulty is precisely … Continue reading Making Dostoevsky Relevant: Teaching Notes from Underground to College Freshmen by Heather Porter
Redefining Literacy with Graphic Novels by Becca James
A line has formed, populated with people holding signs and speaking inaudibly to those that pass by. Move in closer, and it’s evident that the line is composed of high school students. Although they should be in the classroom on this mid-March Friday, they’ve taken to the streets in protest of Chicago Public School’s decision … Continue reading Redefining Literacy with Graphic Novels by Becca James
Teaching English 4/533: Enabling World Texts, Past and Present, to Talk to Each Other by William D. Dyer
I am going to offer, as a means for providing a context for the long student-written collaborative paper that follows as well the brief discussion of how this assignment might apply to other teaching environments and students (written by the graduate student “point person” on that project and practicing high school teacher), an introduction to … Continue reading Teaching English 4/533: Enabling World Texts, Past and Present, to Talk to Each Other by William D. Dyer
Examination of the Cultural Influences Behind The Hobbit by Gillian Singler, Alicia Guthmiller, & Kevin Smith
Introduction The New York Times first pointed out in its review of The Hobbit, that "…there may come the thought of how legend and tradition and the beginning of history meet and mingle…"The Hobbit" is a glorious account of a magnificent adventure, filled with suspense and seasoned with a quiet humor that is irresistible…this is … Continue reading Examination of the Cultural Influences Behind The Hobbit by Gillian Singler, Alicia Guthmiller, & Kevin Smith
The Hobbit Companion Essay: A Pedagogical Tool by Gillian Singler
The initial topic for this research project was a culturally-based analysis of a text of our choosing. Each group was expected to examine sections of their choice that would highlight the novel’s root culture in addition to paralleling it to our own. As a group, we decided on The Hobbit because it was beloved by … Continue reading The Hobbit Companion Essay: A Pedagogical Tool by Gillian Singler
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