Describes how the author and her high school English students begin their study of Thoreau's "Walden" by mining the text for quotations to inspire their own writing and discussion on the topic, "How does Thoreau speak to you or how could he speak to someone you know?" (SR)

Uses Chris Crutcher's "Chinese Handcuffs" and several other pieces of young adult literature to show how to teach literary elements and writing and reading skills. Notes that prominence is given to students' responses to reading and writing. (RS)

Discusses writing assignments in response to literature that encourage adolescent female students to construct knowledge by allowing the self back into the process of knowing and in so doing to discover their own voices and a position of authority. Argues that through such authentic engagement with texts, young women can become more active,…

Describes an activity called "Critical Analysis of Literature." Students read, think, debate, and write about controversial books, examining whether each novel should be included in the school curriculum. This teaches students to critically analyze information, develop an appreciation for literature, and develop a respect for thinking on their…

Describes an exploration the author and his seventh-grade students undertook as they wrote essays about objects of personal significance. Describes how they examined a piece of literature (an essay) as a model for their own writing, how they spent some time talking and listening to one another about their personal objects, and how they then wrote…

Reorganized and revised, the second edition of this book provides the latest theoretical and practical materials that instructors across the disciplines will need to help students build strong writing skills. It offers suggestions about how to develop effective writing assignments; and it evaluates various methods of assessing student writing,…