This article describes an instructional lesson the author developed to help students use parody to read and write original poetry. The author begins this article with an introduction to parody and a rationale for using it as an instructional strategy. Then, he describes materials and procedures he used and he shares samples of student writing. He…

In an effort to ensure that students feel "safe" and "comfortable" in the classrooms, English teachers often avoid controversial topics, particularly issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality. The insidious hidden curriculum or the unintended consequences of what they choose to say or not say--teach or not teach--can have as much or more impact…

Finding few resources on how to teach a yearbook class, high school teacher Christina M. Vettraino set out to create her own. She offers a detailed, classroom-tested approach to producing an award-winning yearbook. Students on the staff and in the yearbook class learn the purpose and the concept of a unifying theme, graphic design, writing, and…

Describes a high school course in American fiction in which students read an excerpt from a work of literature, watch the film adaptation of the work, and study both from a particular literary standpoint. Notes that such an approach appeals to reluctant readers. (RS)

Presents several assumptions about scientific writing and from these derives teaching methods for a year-long sequence of writing courses for science freshmen. (DD)

Presents an outline of a writing program designed to provide both the mental stimulation and ego involvement that enhance retirement life. (RL)

Describes a course on values in twentieth-century literature. Discusses the teaching of James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man" and other works. Describes the students' reactions. Asserts that twentieth-century literature should be addressed in a way that encourages students to grow and develop. (PRA)

Describes a writing course for undermotivated students which focuses on careful precise observations through the study of other time periods in the history of the town where the school is located. (DD)

Describes a course in which students learn to write rich, accurate, precise, objective description, develop a sensitivity to honest, uninflated language, and demonstrate these skills by producing an action proposal. Describes the three sections of the course: objective description, lessons in language, and grand proposals. (PRA)

Reports on a sample mini-course in the humanities entitled A Several-Circled Search for Self'' which employs the circus as a theme while stressing the importance of student involvement and the development of self-concept. (RB)

Describes how a course on censorship taught at an all-girls high school in Tacoma, Washington, drew on current event controversies to initiate discussion. Outlines the course's four units and uses Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" to frame course questions. (TB)

Describes student involvement in creating their own old radio'' productions. (MM)

Describes an eight-week elective course for High School juniors and seniors on The Life and Works of Eugene O'Neill." (MB)

Describes a course for preservice English teachers on descriptive grammar. Discusses definitions and aims and what to do about traditional grammar; transformational-generative grammar; language acquisition; and applied grammar. Presents teaching strategies. (RS)

Defends values education and describes five segments of an elective high school course entitled "Contemporary American Literature: The Search for Values." (DD)