Describes the author's first year as a secondary school English teacher. Notes how his writing-centered curriculum was a failure because he did not realize that writing and reading cannot be separated. Outlines how his teaching and class activities now reflect the fact that learning to write better helps student learn to read better and that…

Relates how the author came into a generally contentious classroom of eleventh-grade developmental English students and how it became a place of cooperative reading and writing and critiquing through a democratic approach and a three-week project in which students wrote a fictional story via letter writing. Notes student's involvement and…

Describes how the author used to teach writing and reading to her high school English classes with two completely different approaches, viewing them as completely different acts. Argues that both are acts of construction and expression, and tells how she developed a student-centered approach that integrates reading literature and writing. (SR)

Describes how English teachers of grades 6-12 in one high school have given more direct instruction in the explicit strategies students should use when reading. These strategies, combined with frequent opportunities for students to reflect on their effectiveness on integrating these strategies into their reading processes, resulted in more…

Describes how a twelfth-grade high school English teacher used Robert Olen Butler's "Tabloid Dreams" as a reading and writing assignment. Students explored their responses to Butler's stories with attention and depth, and then wrote their own stories, making the potentially ridiculous meaningful, and using complexity and emotion. (SR)

Describes a high school language arts elective course on the novel, based on copious reading both in and out of class, a mix of assigned books and personal choice books in a broad range of difficulty in sophistication, and a wide range of activities, discussions, and writing. Notes enthusiastic responses, individual victories, and the sense of…

Offers a brief historical overview of the reading-writing connection. Argues that making personal connections and self-monitoring comprehension are key behaviors of active readers and should be promoted during reading as well as before and after. Describes one such reading activity, called the "Think-Link" chart, that requires writing, encourages…

Describes how an English teacher of disenchanted high school kids made students apprentice writers, and used genre study to bring reading and writing together in the classroom. Shows how students learned to do closer readings, looked at the writer's craft, did occasional sentence-by-sentence analysis, and wrote their own pieces in these genres.…

Discusses why and how the author uses writing-to-learn techniques in the study of literature to promote enjoyment, understanding, and imagination. Describes using learning logs (reader-response journals), varying aesthetic responses to link reading and writing, and incorporating technology. (SR)

Describes an activity called "Critical Analysis of Literature." Students read, think, debate, and write about controversial books, examining whether each novel should be included in the school curriculum. This teaches students to critically analyze information, develop an appreciation for literature, and develop a respect for thinking on their…

Argues an English curriculum infused with multicultural literature and perspectives will not cause the educational and social outcomes attributed to it. The crux of the problem is to help students acquire, from their own experience with literature, a greater desire for literature. Suggests desire to read can be stimulated by a thoughtful…

Examines the evolving relationships between teachers and standards in Maine and in Derbyshire, England. The politics of who develops the curriculum and how it is implemented have strongly shaped teachers' attitudes toward working with standards. Notes that while teachers believe they are substantially meeting those standards, documenting and…

Describes how an English department and a school district responded to a parental challenge to the use of James Dickey's novel "Deliverance" in a senior English class. Offers a 2-month chronology of events, beginning with a letter of complaint to the principal, continuing through responses, meetings, media coverage, and the meeting and vote of the…

Relates the author's experiences teaching English at the Casablanca American School in Morocco. Evokes the joys and frustrations of establishing relationships between teacher and student, noting how possibilities exist sometimes in small and insignificant things. (SR)

The author reflects on how she will apply to her own middle-school classroom what she has learned from her many years of work with the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA). Looks specifically at five important cross-cutting findings from CELA. (SR)