Engaging students in the reading process is challenging when they are unable to connect to texts. It is important to provide inclusive and diverse texts (IDTs) in the language arts curriculum. To promote a positive reading experience, all students need to read IDTs with non-stereotypical depictions of girls, women, people of Color, and more. This…

The required literature (frequently referred to as "the canon") taught in the secondary English Language Arts curriculum often focuses on the "classics," which do not always connect to modern students or reflect their identities. This study sought to investigate how the ELA canon could be adapted to better reflect students'…

In a sea of troubling reports about education, teaching, reading, and the well-being of teens, Ivey and Johnston bring some good news that shows what happens when we stop underestimating young people. This accessible book offers an engaging account of a 4-year study of adolescents who went from reluctant to enthusiastic readers. These youth…

This article explores the benefits and problems of teaching with challenged books in the English language arts classroom. Challenged books initiate important discussions and provide opportunities for students to explore diverse perspectives. Methods for helping teachers and schools prepare for potential challenges are also discussed. The authors…

Exploring the realm of literacy involves understanding how graphic novels shape students' reading and writing journeys. Through scholarly research, the authors delve into the significant impact of graphic novels on education while highlighting their appeal to students through visual features and engaging storytelling. Included is a discussion of…

Purpose: Researchers and teachers have noted the power of students reading text sets or multiple texts on the same topic, and numerous articles have been published with examples of and frameworks for text set construction. This study aims to traces the theoretical assumptions of these frameworks and explores their distinct implications and…

Inspired by the work of Muhammad (2020) and building upon the previous work of Hays (2021) in using young adolescent literature as a tool for social change, the authors highlight the ways in which educators such as Amardeep Bajwa can cultivate students' intellect through literature circle-based activities. More specifically, Hays worked with local…

In Japan, the workshop-style approach for teaching reading has drawn recent attention. However, the obligation to use Ministry of Education-approved textbooks makes applying this method in classes difficult. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possibilities of incorporating workshop-style lessons into a Japanese language arts class and its…

Helping students engage with complex texts has been a longstanding challenge, though teachers have received little guidance about practices that help students in engaging with texts. This paper provides a range of empirical evidence about a tool designed to provide formative insight into text-focused teaching, which we used to reliably score more…

This paper uses an assignment given to the authors' preservice teachers to address and push back against common arguments used to uphold canonical text selection in secondary ELA classrooms. Using the metaphor of canon defense as empire building first made by Toni Morrison in the canon debates of the 1980s, the authors examine the weaknesses in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a collaborative inquiry group of middle school ELA teachers who were utilizing the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) framework to create a virtual library of e-books, examine students' reading motivation data, and implement classroom practices intended to increase student reading value, motivation,…

Purpose: This study aims to understand the supports and challenges to using disciplinary and antiracism lenses when teaching with informational texts in middle grades English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyzes teacher talk in four virtual sessions with four middle grades ELA teachers in one school…

As part of integrated instruction, educators aim to efficiently and simultaneously address learning goals across multiple subject areas like English language arts (ELA) and science or social studies. While studies are beginning to show that this instructional approach can be effective, it is challenging to implement in practice, requiring that…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how preservice teachers (PTs) learn about disciplinary literacy in English language arts (ELA). In mathematics and writing, research has found that teachers' participation in disciplinary work can support their understanding of domain-specific inquiry, problem-solving and argumentation.…

Due to the Common Core State Standards, close reading is becoming a common practice in today's elementary and middle school classrooms. Qualitative content analysis of journal publications was used to determine the (a) prevalence of close reading in the existing literature, (b) knowledge about close reading from the research literature, (c) themes…