This paper examines analyses of adolescent romance fiction, highlighting key themes and debates over time. I will argue that contemporary social conditions underline the need to reconsider the value of this genre in the secondary English classroom. However, working effectively with genre literature (including romance) requires educators to…

Scholarship in literacy and education has depicted reading as an active, multidimensional, and complex process. However, an often more reductive version of reading, close reading, has been advocated frequently for use in secondary and postsecondary literacy classrooms. The author examines materials created to help teachers implement close reading…

Good writers don't wing it--they have a plethora of skills. They list, picture, circle, strategize and revise to make language come alive. They know what to use and when. Like ace athletes, they are highly trained, well-versed in the techniques found in this lively book. "Writing Workouts" provides a method for instruction that gives…

Within secondary English language arts (ELA), concerns about the use of whitestream curricula have fueled numerous studies regarding the authorship of works included in anthologies (Applebee, 1991; Hansen, 2005; Mikkelson, 2009; Pace, 1992; Rojas, 2010) and on the lists of required full-length titles (e.g., Applebee, 1989; Hoffman, 2007;…

The aim of the present research is to investigate the teachers' use of movies in their classes for the teaching of literature and their opinions on this technique. The research is designed as a case study. The target group of the research, selected on information-oriented sampling, consists of 44 Turkish Language and Literature teachers who…

English as a second language (ESL) teachers instructing general English and English for specific purposes (ESP) in bilingual secondary schools face various challenges when it comes to choosing the main linguistic foci of language preparatory courses enabling non-native students to study academic subjects in English. ESL teachers intending to…

This study investigates how genre can be used as an organisational principle to interweave teaching and assessment in the L2 school context. Relying on data from interviews and lesson observations gathered from two Secondary 1 (that is, Grade 7) Hong Kong classrooms, the study sought to discover how teachers implemented genre-based teaching and…

Discusses the importance of Vietnam War literature by and about women and provides ideas for incorporating it into the reading/English language arts curriculum. Provides a rationale for such literature; discusses types of Vietnam War literature by and about women; and addresses pedagogical aspects. (RS)

Responds to E. D. Hirsch's lists of essential background knowledge, asserting that readers must also understand key concepts, be familiar with genre, and employ interpretive strategies to understand literary texts. Asserts that careful grouping and sequencing of texts can provide this knowledge for students. (SR)

Appraises the literary genre of adolescent literature and describes ERIC documents that discuss the pros and cons of the genre. (HOD)

Discusses novels of the Vietnam War, their usefulness, and the interest they hold for students. Considers four categories of Vietnam novels: the Vietnam experience, the war at home, the refugee experience, and the war's effect on the next generation. (SR)

Describes the author's experiences as a poetry teacher. Compares the world of poetry to a house with thousands of windows. States that poetry from other countries has value for American readers. Chronicles her efforts to gather the poetic anthology "This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World," meant for younger readers as…

Discusses why people write and read historical fiction, in particular historical fiction involving war. Uses the author's book "Thunder at Gettysburg" to illustrate how such fiction can illuminate the epiphanies people experience, brought on by the exigencies of battle and of survival. (SR)

Describes a variety of books that offer fictional and poetic landscapes--five historical novels set in disparate locales, a book set in medieval Denmark, another addressing the landscape of memory, and a novel about a poet-scientist. (SR)

Considers how a modern author succeeds in giving new life to traditional motifs and patterns. Discusses the first book by Carol Hughes, "Toots and the Upside Down House." Discusses the practice of adopting patterns and motifs of literary traditions. Considers features of postmodernism and biographical implications in her work. (SC)