Current research suggests that students who struggle with grammar, spelling, mechanics and other "problems of ability," as well as students who suffer from "problems of engagement," as well as those students who see reading and writing as a chore, can benefit from creative writing assignments and learn to enjoy reading and…

The UK's "Prime Minister's Questions"--a television program that shows parliamentary proceedings and banter between House of Commons members--can be a free, real-world resource for rhetorical analysis opportunities. In this article, the author presents the inherent value of these sessions in the classroom as a means of creatively…

The proposals for the revised National Curriculum in English suggest limiting the pre-twentieth century poetry that GCSE pupils read to "representative Romantic poetry" (Department for Education [DFE], 2013, p. 4). This paper argues that poetry of the early modern period is challenging and enriching study for adolescent pupils and that…

The nature of literacy is an issue of global debate. When the National Literacy Strategy [NLS] was introduced into UK schools it was arguably the most ambitious educational reform programme in the world, and the controversy necessarily intensified. How can the impact of such reforms be assessed? In its ten year history the NLS affected every…

What exactly has changed in the production of secondary school English over the last decade? To provide one part of an answer to that question, this paper takes the practice of annotation--a defining activity of the subject English in the UK seldom researched--and uses it as a device for uncovering aspects of changes in the subject. The…

One of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards for Reading is that all students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. By the time they complete the core, students must be able to read and comprehend independently and proficiently the kinds of complex texts commonly found…

Effective drama teaching improves the following student skills: speaking and listening, reading and writing through developing thinking, communication skills, and critical analysis. Drama is part of young people's core curriculum entitlement in the United Kingdom. It is included in the English Curriculum Orders and in the Key Stage 3 Framework for…

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…

In this interview, Gunther Kress proposes how English needs to expand beyond its traditional linguistic frame into a semiotic frame which recognizes not only the visual but other modes. He argues also for a shift to forms of production in which the acts of reflection and meaning-making are fused, rather than separating the production of new…

Considers the schools of thought in language and learning, and examines how their theories and propositions affect teachers. Characterizes the teacher as a professional manager and discusses what it means to be such a person. Investigates what managers and teachers know and need to know-in-practice. (KEH)