Discusses how educators must begin to appreciate home culture as a key factor in school success. Reflects on the author's own personal experiences and struggles in his first experiences learning to read. Presents instructional approaches for working with culturally diverse learners. Considers the social context of learning to read. (SG)

Notes that more secondary teachers are discovering the therapeutic and instructional value of children's literature and are steadily increasing their use of quality picture books to introduce a theme, begin a discussion on a social issue, trigger a round of creative writing, or strengthen an appreciation for poetry. Encourages young adults to…

Provides some basic suggestions to help teachers become politically aware and perhaps politically involved. Focuses on how to influence legislation at the state level; however, much of the advice is applicable to the national level as well. Gives reasons for becoming politically involved, where to begin, and for taking action. Notes how teachers…

Presents a way to help English as a Second Language (ESL) students make the transition to mainstream English classes that mitigates many of the problems these students encounter. Suggests that high school English teachers need professional development to relate their instructional and assessment practices to what is known about second-language…

Articulates key changes occurring around information literacy and raises issues just recently considered such as: what libraries will become; what students need to learn about navigating the new library space; how the role of the librarian is changing; and what these new roles and capacities imply for the relation between teacher and librarian and…

Focuses on some of the ways in which literacy program participants from immigrant cultures take up the literacy information and procedures offered to them by their host culture. Demonstrates ways in which institutional responses to nontraditional forms of literacy can be accurately identified and program implementation effectively modified to…

Suggests that when students improve their ability to code-switch from the local dialect (African American English) to Standard English, they improved their academic achievement, particularly in science and math. Indicates that future teachers need to be exposed to many different cultures and dialects in terms of teacher preparation. (SG)

Reflects on the value of supplementing the reading of print fiction with the viewing of film and video in the English curriculum. Discusses intertextuality, media convergence, and multiliteracies. Notes use of the film "The Matrix" to bridge popular and classroom cultures. Explores the use of popular cultural texts in the contemporary climate of…

Describes an innovative approach to the familiar structure of readers' workshop in which troubled adolescent males reexamined their early literacy experiences through the process of reading, listening to, and reacting to children's books. Notes that many of these readers came to see reading as a valuable life activity, a form of enjoyment, and…

Describes a way to teach summarization that can be applied to all content areas, and explains the factors that make it effective. Includes written guidelines to follow as the class learns how to write summaries. Notes that a formal test of these classroom procedures showed that repeated references and generalization were both effective in…

Presents two short articles. Discusses implementation of a K-W-E-L framework (What I Know, What I Want to Know, What the School District Expects, and What I Learned) in junior-level high school American literature courses. Presents a teacher's personal literacy history, which he wrote along with his students. Suggests successful teaching and…

Reports on a pilot project that is encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to view themselves as innovators and leaders in new information and communications technologies. Describes the aims, activities, and outcomes of the program, and closes with some comments on the new forms of social identity that emerged through literate…

Notes that teachers see the computer as a tool to help them teach better, while students use computers to play games, chat, and design Web sites. Describes the after-school program Kids Learning In Computer Klubhouses (KLICK!) that operates clubhouses within local middle schools. Discusses what participants have accomplished for themselves, their…

Shows the need for teachers to acknowledge to themselves the extent of self censorship in their reviewing and purchasing decisions. Discusses teachers' and students' responses to the novel "I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This." Offers strategies that encourage and support the use of Social Issues Realism, and strategies that support a proactive stance…

Describes an effective way of teaching English at non-English-speaking teachers' colleges. Notes this Content-Based Unit Learning approach focuses on authentic content material necessary to increase teachers' college students' knowledge. Shows the approach increases students' motivation. Contends that language and reading skills are learned best…