This book provides a guide for English language arts teachers in grades 6-12, demonstrating how students learn and how beliefs inform behavior. It promotes a student-centered and inquiry-based teaching philosophy. Seven chapters focus on: (1) "Education Begins with Philosophy" (e.g., belief shapes perception, curriculum in traditional and constructivist classrooms, and student-centered classrooms); (2) "Asking Questions, Facilitating Inquiry" (e.g., risk taking, active listening, small group discussion, calling on students, and using the Internet to research); (3) "Reading and Literature" (e.g., reading logs, teaching reading by connecting with literature, vocabulary instruction, and literature circles); (4) "Writing Workshop" (e.g., writer's notebooks, conferencing, revision, and editing); (5) "Computers, Websites, and Technology" (e.g., revision on the computer, Web publishing, networking for communication, and electronic reading"; (6) "Assessment and Evaluation: Codependent but Different" (e.g., checklists, rubrics, portfolios, and the mixed messages of grading); and (7) "The Politics of Standardization and Testing" (e.g., media reporting of achievement, standards, measuring accountability, and criterion-referenced testing). (Contains 165 references.) (SM)