Preservice teachers base their expectations of teaching on the cultural images that surround them. Unfortunately, these images tell an incomplete story, and preservice teachers' expectations of teaching often reflect a narrow understanding of a fantastically complex endeavor. Jeremy Delamarter explains that, to help their candidates thrive,…

This dissertation reports out the results from a socio-cultural media research study that examined how professional periodicals written for United States K-12 public school literacy educators described fanfiction-based recreational literacy practices between 2003 and 2013. In the first decade of the 21st century, many K-12 literacy scholars…

Teacher quality, or 'the good teacher' is not clearly defined in Norway, nor are there specific standards for measuring teacher quality. Everybody has an opinion about the good teacher, and teacher quality is frequently debated. Moreover, in Norway there is no systematic evaluation of teachers. Nevertheless, numerous reforms and popular discourses…

The Disney/Pixar film, "Monsters University" (2013) was a tremendous financial success. As a film written entirely about college students and their quest for social and economic attainment, but marketed primarily to children and adolescents, its messages about the purpose of college and the college experience deserve close examination…

In this article, the authors provide a synopsis of the 2014 Children's Literature Assembly (CLA) Workshop. The Workshop explored how fiction and nonfiction children's and young adult's literature create opportunities for in-depth learning in the content areas. Participants had the opportunity to hear the stories of authors and illustrators of…

The reading framework for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) presents the assessment's conceptual base and discusses its content. The framework describes the types of texts and questions that should be included in the assessment, as well as how the questions should be designed and scored. This report provides highlights of…

As the ongoing national indicator of what American students know and can do, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading regularly collects achievement information on representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Through The Nation's Report Card, the NAEP Reading Assessment reports how well students perform in…

The proliferation of digital and networking technologies enables us to rethink, restructure, and redefine teaching and learning. Transmedia storytelling takes advantage of the rapid convergence of media and allows teachers and learners to participate in rich virtual (and physical) environments that have been shown to foster students' real…

In K-12 classrooms, as well as on the college and university level, the incorporation of digital games has played a vital role in the educational system. While introducing teachers to new fields, these digital games have been designed and implemented for the classroom and have shown positive results at a variety of educational levels. Cases on…

Intended for both elementary and secondary school teachers who have little or no experience in teaching creative fiction writing, this booklet presents sample lesson plans for writing short stories, fables, myths, mysteries, science fiction, and historical fiction. The lesson plans discuss such elements as plot, setting, characterization, mood,…

Explains convictions that historical fiction, often the result of lengthy research, can be very relevant to current problems and that, in the story form which children love, such fiction helps children understand the historical continuity of events. (JM)

This document contains a short fictional story about a girl who, with the help of a fictional guardian armadillo, learns how to say "no" when her friends want her to do something she thinks is wrong. Readers will learn how to say no without losing their friends. (NB)

This document contains a short fictional story about three brothers who must decide how to spend $200 after their mother receives an unexpected bonus. The boys in the story have a brainstorming session and seek advice from adults before reaching a compromise that is acceptable to all of them. Readers learn about compromise, money management, and…

Reviews books by Jan De Hartog, Ernest J. Gaines, Joanne Greenberg, Ellen Pall, and Jim Shepard that, while intended for adults, are also of interest to high school age readers. (FL)

Lists new editions and reissues of books for young readers. Tells when the original book was published and if and when it was reviewed in this journal. (FL)