Schools are becoming increasingly diverse, and teachers must recognize the social, cultural, and personal experiences that students bring to the classroom and must leverage this knowledge to develop curriculum and instructional strategies to meet the needs of a growing, diverse student population. The author uses Winn and Johnson's (2011)…

English teachers should write and share their writing. The authors analyze how composing sonnets added to understanding of poetic genre, literary terminology, and state standards. This article argues on behalf of more creative writing in English language arts and explains the benefits of teachers and students sharing their writing.

Multigenre writing projects contribute to the use of out-of-school literacies, multiple modes of meaning, and writing from several perspectives to aid their audience in comprehending the material being presented. Students are able to write using real-world examples of writing pieces and are required to think critically when melding the pieces of…

Providing written commentary on essays to students in English has long been a challenge for instructors. With increasing numbers of students being placed in classrooms, it can be difficult to deliver an adequate amount of feedback without taxing too much of teachers' time. Consequently, the author wanted to know what feedback students valued most…

This paper discusses my experiences taking a semester's worth of undergraduate courses in order to determine the literacy task demands placed on students in the classroom. It has been well documented that students struggle with literacy tasks when they enter college. My experiences indicated that part of this struggle might be because reading…

In this article, Darrell Rasco, a full-time student at Waxahachie Global High (STEM/ECHS), presents a dialogue that took place between him and his high school teacher throughout the course of several writing assignments during the school year. Through writing assignments and encouragement from his teacher, Darrell has recently discovered his…

Outlines a process by which senior high school students study Jonathan Swift's'"A Modest Proposal" and then write their own satirical essays by modeling the tone and style of Swift's essay. (SR)

Describes using Monday morning journal writing activities to give the teacher an insight into what the weekend has done for students. (RS)

Describes a writing assignment based on a teacher-created scenario in which students discover a box (when visiting their grandmother's sister) containing a number of strange items including a written proposal for marriage. (TB)

Suggests that the key to making research writing something students are eager to learn is the instructor's enthusiasm and skill in gathering irresistible ideas and prompts to pique students' curiosity. Presents seven steps to help students write research papers. (RS)

Discusses problems with freshman research paper assignments. Describes how one teacher has adapted cooperative learning techniques to research assignments, allowing students to work together in "base" and "expert" groups. Describes four structured writing assignments on a single subject of general public interest that lends itself to specialized…

Offers descriptions of three class activities involving collaboration between basic composition and freshman composition classes, involving magazine production and peer response. (SR)

Makes a case for teaching integrity in the classroom through writing assignments and case studies of ethical situations that teenagers would face in their daily lives. (TB)

Describes how one English teacher developed an approach to teaching writing that was based on asking students to write memoirs or personal narratives. Presents an amalgam of letters written to a newspaper and to three co-authors of an article published in "The Chronicle of Higher Education" regarding the use of personal writing in freshman…

Describes how one English teacher used exciting and stimulating reading materials about the "old West," including excerpts from Davy Crockett's diary. Describes a series of interdisciplinary activities in which students examined Crockett's life in their English class and history class. (HB)