As my (Mariah's) own social media feeds were flooded with fake news and articles about fake news, my thoughts turned to students who must also be grappling with the tricky questions of reliability and veracity in this digital landscape. In English classes, we often ask students to be critical consumers of texts and media. The … Continue reading #StayWoke: Empowering Students to Respond to Fake News by Mariah Morin & Heather Hurst
Centering LGBTQ People of Color with Young Adult Literature in Secondary ELA by Cody Miller & Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko
As English language arts teachers, we believe young adult literature offers an avenue for voices and experiences that are largely ignored by canonical texts. LGBTQ voices are among those omitted from many English language arts textbooks. In the past, we relied heavily on young adult literature to provide our students LGBTQ texts. However, the mostly … Continue reading Centering LGBTQ People of Color with Young Adult Literature in Secondary ELA by Cody Miller & Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko
Centering Students’ Voices in a Public Speaking Genre Study by Burke Scarbrough
Today’s students have access to stirring, powerful text in an ever widening array of forms. As we invite our students to discover the power of the carefully crafted written word, many of those students are even more strongly inclined to celebrate the power of language in oral performance. I’m referring to the genres and media … Continue reading Centering Students’ Voices in a Public Speaking Genre Study by Burke Scarbrough
Addressing Racial Injustice Through Allyship: Teaching to See by Using Poetry by Sharon Rudnicki
(Note: The editors have chosen to partially redact a form of the n-word that appears when quoting Kendrick Lamar's lyrics.) Introduction In 2016, America was treated to two excellent television series that focus on the life of O.J. Simpson, FX’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson and ESPN’s O.J.: Made in … Continue reading Addressing Racial Injustice Through Allyship: Teaching to See by Using Poetry by Sharon Rudnicki
Closing the Door on Standardized Test Preparation and Opening the Door to Next Generation Literacy by Vicky Giouroukakis & Maureen Connolly
Introduction “I want to facilitate learning that helps students be the best versions of themselves.” “I teach to inspire a new generation of book lovers!” “I teach to change lives!” “I teach to show students how BRILLIANT they can be!” These are the words of four … Continue reading Closing the Door on Standardized Test Preparation and Opening the Door to Next Generation Literacy by Vicky Giouroukakis & Maureen Connolly
Writing is Elemen‘tree’: A Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Framework for Navigating the Writing Process by Lyndi Maxwell
Abstract This article describes how teachers can use manipulatives, visual aids, and poetry to help students navigate a process-approach writer’s workshop. The workshop is presented as being analogous to how a squirrel navigates an oak tree, as the squirrel represents the writer, each part of the oak tree represents a stage of the writing process, … Continue reading Writing is Elemen‘tree’: A Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Framework for Navigating the Writing Process by Lyndi Maxwell
Dogmatism and Teaching Writing by Alexandra Glynn
The great writing textbooks seldom prompt aspiring writers to be certain. The ancients assumed that they would already be, so there was no need to discuss it. The moderns deride certainty. But how many times have writing teachers had to correct an “I think that the political atmosphere is…” by deleting the “I think”? And … Continue reading Dogmatism and Teaching Writing by Alexandra Glynn
Implementing Tabletop Gaming in the English Classroom: Promoting Literacy through Interactive Gameplay by Mike P. Cook, Ryan Morgan, & Matthew Gremo
[pdf version here: cook-implementing-tabletop-gaming-in-the-english-classroom] Introduction Table-top gaming, at its core, is simply a term used to refer to any social game that is traditionally played in person around a table. Over the years, the term itself has become an umbrella for all forms of board games, but in gaming culture it is most commonly applied … Continue reading Implementing Tabletop Gaming in the English Classroom: Promoting Literacy through Interactive Gameplay by Mike P. Cook, Ryan Morgan, & Matthew Gremo
Comics, Dickens, and Teaching by Serial Publication by Michael MacBride
Teaching the "huge" text s-l-o-w-l-y: taking your time with Dickens and Comic Books How do you teach a 500- or 900-page Dickens’ novel—heaven forbid a 1,500-page Richardson novel? (1) How do you teach a comic book, like Detective Comics, that has been running since 1937, or a comic strip, like Katzenjammer Kids, that's been around … Continue reading Comics, Dickens, and Teaching by Serial Publication by Michael MacBride
Rhetorical Empathy in the Writing Classroom by Erin Kunz
When developing a college composition course, content and methodology are always important considerations, but as instructors we also must consider how we can develop good practices in order to foster an intellectual environment. We try to create community for our students, but because of a number of issues—resistance, apathy, and misunderstanding, to name a few, … Continue reading Rhetorical Empathy in the Writing Classroom by Erin Kunz
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