Collaborative learning is something that all students will employ once they finish their formal education, and while it isn't something that can be objectively tested by standardized exams, it is something that can be taught. Learning to work in groups is simultaneously a way of learning and a skill worth learning. Teachers should acknowledge that…

As an educator, the author learned that her job was not simply to teach the fundamental concepts of literature and writing, but also to teach students the fundamentals of conversation and collaboration. In this article, the author shares her experience in using traditional, teacher-centered methods to inspire spirited conversations among students…

Textbooks and grammar worksheets do not adequately convey to students how readers or listeners are shaped by the language of the writer. The best way to help students understand the emphasis of a dash or another device is to see one used during a suspenseful moment in a dramatic selection. It is up to the teacher to select dramatic works that…

Students in Ginger M. Eikmeier's high school classes link themes and terms from their readings to episodes of "The Simpsons." Because students are already familiar with "The Simpsons," Eikmeier believes that using the show supports students' comprehension and retention by activating prior knowledge. Additionally, it shows students that she cares…

The preservice teachers from all disciplines will be benefited if they incorporate reading in their classes according to Dr. Louise Rosenblatt's reader-response theory. A teacher's experience with her students while reading Chris Crutcher's "Staying Fat for Sarah Byanes" in the Secondary Content Area and a student's response on the novel are…

Describes how a teacher found literature for Upward Bound students. Presents Geoffrey Canada's "Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America" as a nonfiction work to provide clarity and connections that might not have been available in a fictional work, yet it had elements of literary fiction that made the text…

Describes how as part of a nine-week unit on tolerance and prejudice, the author's middle school students became immersed in Holocaust literature. Notes that the theme of bearing witness, of never forgetting, which runs through the literature, is the central driving force of work in the classroom. (SG)

A new club in Rhode Island invited every Rhode Islander to read the same book and participate in the conversation on importance of reading. Narrative, analytical and various responses of students on reading "Wish You Well" are mentioned.

Relates changing student reaction to George Orwell's "1984" over 20 years of teaching. Finds present high school students' acceptance of Orwell's bleak world vision both a sign of student honesty and a frightening indication of the growing reality of the book. (MM)

Presents four teachers' reasons why they each favor teaching a particular novel. Discusses teaching "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (Ken Kesey), "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (Betty Smith), "My Antonia" (Willa Cather), and "The Wave" (Tod Strasser). (NH)

Explains how the literary metaphor of the quest can be used as a tool in self-explorations. (MM)

Presents a dialog among three English teachers concerning teaching performance poetry to ninth graders. (RS)

Reports on results of a teacher's experiment in book burning as a lesson accompanying the teaching of Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." Discusses student reactions and the purpose of or justification for the experimental lesson. (TB)

Discusses a collaborative writing project where all students, regardless of ability, can demonstrate their understanding of Homer's "Odyssey" by writing a contemporary odyssey. Notes that students eagerly awaited and then read the final compilation of the project. (RS)

Illustrates the use of drama as a form of literary response. Suggests that drama allows students to develop and exhibit a range of skills and to demonstrate their literary understandings in "unschooled" ways. Suggests that Howard Gardner's work on multiple intelligences demonstrates that students may not be developing understandings because they…