"Ten years ago when I began my career, it was all about how I, the teacher, the performer, the motivator, would capture my students’ attention so they could repeat the ideas that I knew were present in the texts."
"I am pleased to announce that I am no longer the sage on the stage; I have blossomed into a teacher who has a toolkit of activities to guide my students through the process of discovering meaning. I am now a teacher who beams with pride when my students are eager to read a short story after composing predictions during a pre-reading activity."
I enjoy eavesdropping on literature circle discussions, where my students are sharing their ideas about a poem. I am intrigued by the insight of my eighth graders as I read the newsletter they created to respond to a cross-genre study of the Vietnam War. I am pleased because I am now helping to create independent thinkers, instead of entertaining students who will repeat my ideas."
--Adria F. Merritt
Russell Middle School
Lawrenceville, Virginia
Related Resources..
Middle Ground: Exploring Selected Literature from and about the Middle East
Author(s): Sheryl L. Finkle, Tamara J. Lilly
For years, literature from and about the Middle East has largely been missing from middle and high school curricula. Changing demographics and global citizenship necessitate a better understanding of Middle Eastern history, culture, and literature.
Writing about Literature
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Kahn, Carolyn Calhoun Walter, Larry R. Johannessen
Kahn, Walter, and Johannessen present a set of sequences designed to teach students to support an interpretation, explicate an implied relationship, and analyze an author's generalizations. They provide a series of handouts that help students develop the skills of analysis and persuasion that are essential to writing about literature.