Many students experience that the prepackaged secondary English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum used in many classrooms does not effectively engage them or further their English acquisition. This article shares the story of creating a curriculum the authors believe other teachers can emulate to successfully teach adolescents who are new to…

According to the authors, teachers often read about inspiring lessons in which historically marginalized students find their voices through assignments and projects that centralize issues of importance to the student. This article describes the authors' revision of a persuasive writing unit to scaffold not only writing skills but also students'…

Discusses the policy, objectives, and possible teaching procedures that a local teachers' association developed in response to a directive to include writing in all subject areas and at all grade levels. (RL)

Suggests that educators need to find ways to meet the demands of the assessment arena in which they find themselves without withdrawing from their students the wonders of the journeys educators and students take that are inspired by texts, films, and performances--journeys that must be taken to enrich the lives of students now and in the future.…

Describes a longitudinal study of third graders experiencing a writing and revision program by following them through high school, interviewing them again in sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. Reveals some important steps all teachers must take to achieve a balance between structure and freedom in the writing curriculum. (SG)

Erick Gordon, founding director of the Student Press Initiative, illustrates collaborations with teachers and students that have motivated students to invest themselves in the process and product of writing, including research, oral history, revision, and an immersion in and commitment to community.

Describes experiences teaching advanced reading and writing at a school for juvenile offenders. (EL)

Compares the French school system's emphasis on writing with the American school system's lack of priority for writing instruction. Argues that teachers in France are effective because they are free to concentrate on teaching, without having to perform duties unrelated to teaching. (JAD)

Describes a successful unit on poetry, characterized by collaborative planning, creation of the collection of poems used as the text, variation of the approaches and types of assignments, use of recorded music and poetry collected, use of local poets who read and performed for the students, online sharing and critiquing of students' poetry, and a…

Reviews important works concerning the teaching of literature and writing in order to provide insights to serve as catalysts for reconsidering current literature and writing curricula. (JL)

Details the results of allowing student choice in reading and writing. Contends that introducing choice late in a student's schooling complicates that student's ability to reap the full benefits of autonomy. Concludes that choice as a key component of teaching reading and writing is problematic in a traditional setting filled with prescriptive…

Presents the results of a two-year teacher/researcher collaboration between Liz, an experienced high school English teacher, and David, a university researcher in writing across the curriculum. Describes the experience of the school studied and presents some reactions of teachers to the experience. (SG)

A survey of writing research indicates positive directions for teaching composition: reflecting developmental patterns in curriculum guides; emphasizing prewriting and revising strategies; giving priority to problem solving and creative thinking skills, attending to rhetorical issues like purpose and audience, and conducting research in the…

Describes how the curriculum of a tenth-grade world literature class, with an emphasis on literary genres, was transformed to a curriculum concerned with ethical choices and their consequences within an array of individual and social contexts. Shows how this conversation about ethical choices and dilemmas in her students' lives transformed how the…

Four professionals in English instruction envision a future that contains a 10,000-student secondary school teaching only English language arts, a school where tutors help students learn independently; achieves balance between teaching and institutional ideals of curriculum for basal readers; addresses the writing movement, keyboard instruction,…