Students in the English Language Arts classroom have access to more author commentary than ever. While following authors on social media may deepen students' engagement with their assigned reading, it also threatens to subdue students' own interpretations of the authors' texts. This essay explains how educators can introduce basic aspects of…

In this article, the authors describe the impact of a reader response game in an English language arts classroom. They explore the theoretical intersection of game-based learning and "good games" and transactional theory as a framework for this practice. After incorporating a "good game" of reader response in classes, the…

This autobiographical essay explores the significance that Marxist literary theory has had for me as an English educator. Marxist literary theorists have produced increasingly refined understandings of the formal complexities of literary works, but the reach of such criticism has been limited because they have failed to conceive it as part of a…

Background: Much of the research in literacy focuses on what learners fail to do, especially in the early grades, but it is equally important to research successful readers. In particular learners' experiences with literature contribute to our understanding of the possibilities literary texts offer. This article focused on learners' responses to…

Much research exists about adolescent reading, particularly young adult literature (Allington, 2014; Gallagher & Kittle, 2018; Krashen, 2009). Within that body of research are explorations of nontraditional reading experiences among today's adolescents. This research includes gaming narratives (Ellison & Drew, 2019; Hall, 2011; Sylven…

There is a large body of research regarding the affective and cathartic benefits of literature, both generalized and related to educational contexts. Anecdotal data carry special profundity and pertinence when considering issues of mortality. This article reviews current literature regarding the practices of reading and writing about death.…

Purpose: This paper aims to draw from work in the field of English that questions the "limits of critique" (Felski, 2015) in order to consider the limits of critical literacy approaches to literature instruction. The study focuses on the relational and affective demands that resistant reading places on readers and texts.…

Connecting the constructs of meaning and experience in the fields of English education, teacher education, literacy and narrative inquiry, "Making Meaning with Readers and Texts" materializes new insights for advancing teacher education research, broadening understandings of teachers' use of literacy practices for making meaning from…

Culturally responsive teaching is often nebulous and challenging for many to integrate in an effective and intentional way. As novice teachers, we struggled with developing tangible ways to actualize culturally responsive teaching. However, through our combined experiences and research, we have gained a better understanding of culturally…

Drawing upon my own experiences as a high school English Language Arts teacher, I seek a satisfying response to offer students when they ask, "Why are we reading this?" Such a query often leads teachers and students to consider broader questions of the purposes of literature. This paper presents a hermeneutic exploration of the practice…

This essay seeks to recognise the value in a literature-focused model of the discipline of English, using I.A. Richards, C.K. Ogden and the American New Critics as models of critics who placed the text, and the reader's relationship with the text, at the centre of any study of literature, arguing that this relationship is analogous to that which…

This article explores the ways in which the teaching of canonical texts such as Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" intersects with discourses of race and identity in multicultural classrooms. Informed by Chinua Achebe's post-colonial reading of Conrad and the concept of 'double consciousness' adopted by W. E. B. Du Bois, I examine my…

In an eighth-grade English language arts class, 100 students used virtual reality headsets, augmented reality--capable smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, online scavenger hunts, and print-based texts as an introduction to William Shakespeare's life and works. The authors highlight the need for educators to offer multimodal instruction that…

This essay explores the role of talk within the English classroom. Classroom talk (in its various forms) is not simply a method for sharing fixed systems of knowledge or information; it is the most useful mechanism for giving learners the space to develop new meanings and new ways of thinking about their surroundings. As soon as learners are…

In literature, composition, and other areas of English Studies, relateability can be an important tool to inscribe marginalized subjects as academic citizens. However, its larger arc reproduces ethnocentric and individualistic ideologies at the national and personal levels that foreclose the true understanding of and engagement with Otherness that…