Points out the rich variety of poetry for teenagers available today, and suggests reasons why teenagers might have a difficult time finding it. Appends a list of more than 120 collections of poetry, arranged in categories. (SR)

Notes that portfolios are a valuable classroom practice and one with many applications to the world students will enter when they leave the classroom, but the use of portfolios to assess distorts the concept and weakens its effectiveness. Discourages the use of portfolios for assessment. Concludes that portfolios are not about assessment; they are…

Suggests that educators need to find ways to meet the demands of the assessment arena in which they find themselves without withdrawing from their students the wonders of the journeys educators and students take that are inspired by texts, films, and performances--journeys that must be taken to enrich the lives of students now and in the future.…

Considers four student teachers' experiences and a need for pragmatic context application. Addresses one student who was ill-equipped to teach a general course of study that included many literary works with which he was unfamiliar. Discusses other student teachers in a similar position. (SG)

Presents five teacher descriptions of their summer activities to prepare themselves for the next school year. Describes how one teacher reviews evaluations, another takes a transatlantic cruise with English-focused programs, and another attends a week-long conference presented by Children's Literature New England. Notes that another teacher…

Considers the proposal that students could learn as much English as they needed in one intensive year, after which they could be successfully "mainstreamed." Argues that this might work for small children, but there are different considerations when fluency for college-prep courses are addressed. Concludes that effective teachers look to their…

Notes that when composition instruction engages students in collaborative inquiry and problem solving, it engages students in rehearsing the active processes of writing arguments, and moves from teacher-led work to group work to independent production. Describes several classroom strategies and procedures that will enable them to be productive…

Urges classroom teachers at all levels to be prepared to offer to students who want and need them books that help teenagers understand homosexuality. Describes the author's efforts to help a student by lending her a copy of "Annie on My Mind," a young adult book dealing with sexual orientation. Describes the student's positive experience with this…

Describes how social justice education has the potential to prepare citizens who are sophisticated in their understanding of diversity and group interaction and able to critically evaluate social institutions. Notes that young adult literature provides a context for students to become conscious of their operating world view and to examine…

Describes a multigenre research paper assignment noting how the teacher guided the students with ideas and encouragement. Presents individual students' experiences with the multigenre projects. Discusses the instructor's political agenda, which was based on equality, empathy, and optimism. Concludes that a multigenre research paper takes more time…

Describes a longitudinal study of third graders experiencing a writing and revision program by following them through high school, interviewing them again in sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. Reveals some important steps all teachers must take to achieve a balance between structure and freedom in the writing curriculum. (SG)

Presents the results of a two-year teacher/researcher collaboration between Liz, an experienced high school English teacher, and David, a university researcher in writing across the curriculum. Describes the experience of the school studied and presents some reactions of teachers to the experience. (SG)

Consider need for new pedagogy to address reading needs of high school students. Discusses different kinds of instruction used in a summer remedial program including instruction in: reading strategies; phonics and study skills; reciprocal teaching; grade level content; writing strategies; and rubrics. Concludes that students also need to…

Describes one high school English teacher's experience and attitudes about students' engagement and/or boredom with the English classes. Discusses several events that have helped to shaped how she deals with students who may or may not care about the course of study. (SG)

Presents a script for a play that focuses on the death of a teacher co-worker of the actors (teachers) in the play. Discusses how the "traditional" grammar teaching methods of the deceased teacher were not always respected by his fellow educators, yet he did have a place in the school and education of the students. (SG)