English Journal, Vol. 101, No. 2, November 2011

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Students Reading and Writing for Their Own Purposes

• Call for Manuscripts

• From the Editor [FREE ACCESS]

  Ken Lindblom

• From the Secondary Section: Reading and Writing with Purpose: In and Out of School

  Janet Atkins

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  Abstract: Members of the Secondary Section Steering Committee comment on topics of importance to English language arts educators.

• From the Secondary Section: Through Their Eyes: Remembering September 11, 2001

  Jeanette Toomer

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  Abstract: Members of the Secondary Section Steering Committee comment on topics of importance to English language arts educators.

• EJ Extra: 2010 Honor List: A Small, Small World

  James Blasingame Jr., Alleen Pace Nilsen, and Don L. F. Nilsen

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  Abstract: The authors review their list of most outstanding YA books of 2010.

• Creative and Critical Engagement: Constructing a Teen Vision of the World

  Erica DiMarzio and Ryan Dippre

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  Abstract: Two high school teachers and their students collaborate on student-written and student edited anthologies of creative writing.

• “I Can’t Believe We Read This Whole Book!” How Reading for Their Own Purposes Affected Struggling Teens

  Carol A. Smith and Suzanne Scuilli

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  Abstract: A classroom teacher and a literacy coach describe how a student’s attempt to derail a lesson became an opportunity to design a student-directed curriculum based on highlighting students’ purposes for reading and writing.

• Making the Classics Matter to Students through Digital Literacies and Essential Questions

  Jonathan Ostenson and Elizabeth Gleason-Sutton

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  Abstract: Students read The Scarlet Letter with enthusiasm when the teachers tie it to questions about risky behavior and a multimedia project.

• “Signs of Life” in the High School Classroom: Analyzing Popular Culture to Provide Student Choice in Analytical Writing [FREE ACCESS]

  Shannon Falkner

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  Abstract: Falkner offers a user-friendly approach to semiotics that engages students in critical examination of popular culture they’re already immersed in.

• Purpose beyond Their Years: Students Analyze Future Genres

  Lisa Beckelhimer

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  Abstract: Using an examination of comics as a model, students are exposed to genre analysis, examining forms of writing they are likely to encounter in their future professions.

• They Can Get There from Here: Teaching for Transfer through a “Writing about Writing” Course

  Jennifer Wells

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  Abstract: Students select writing genres to investigate based on their future college major/field interests.

• When I Stopped Writing on Their Papers: Accommodating the Needs of Student Writers with Audio Comments [FREE ACCESS]

  Sara Bauer

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  Abstract: A teacher finds using software to make audio comments on students’ writing improves students’ understanding of her responses and increases their willingness to take her suggestions for revision more seriously.

• Twenty-First-Century Adolescents, Writing, and New Media: Meeting the Challenge with Game Controllers and Laptops

  Hannah R. Gerber and Debra P. Price

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  Abstract: The authors provide suggestions for using popular video games to engage students in authentic expository, persuasive, and creative writing.

• Mindcrime and Doublethink: Using Music to Teach Dystopian Literature

  Daniel Ian Rubin

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  Abstract: This high school teacher uses a 1988 concept album from the heavy metal band Queensrÿche to broaden students’ connections to Orwell’s classic, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

• Asking and Arguing with Fact and Fiction: Using Inquiry and Critical Literacy to Make Sense of Literature in the World

  Deb Sawch

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  Abstract: Asking students to examine the dynamic between fiction and nonfiction can lead to a culture of critical inquiry and help students develop critical literacy.

• Poem: First Day of Class

  Michael Hettich

• Poem: Steve

  Corey Rose

• Poem: Synthesis

  Wes Robinson

• Poem: Talking Video Games with my Stepson, 12 Years Old

  Robbin Jack Brimhall

• Poem: Assessment

  Paul Willis

• Challenging Texts: Decoding Teacher and Student Identity with Jay-Z

  Brent McKeown

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  Abstract: "Challenging Texts" explores various ways of teaching literary theory to high school and middle school students.

• Mentoring Matters: Teaching English as a Subversive Activity: Advice for New Teachers

  Thomas M. McCann

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  Abstract: "Mentoring Matters" focuses on effective ways to support new English teachers and student teachers.

• Professional Writing in the English Classroom: Student Writers as Problem Solvers in Literature Classrooms

  Dawn Reed; Katie Greene

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  Abstract: "Professional Writing in the English Classroom" publishes articles about teaching students to write effectively in the genres, conventions, and visual designs required for professional contexts and related rhetorical situations.

• Research for the Classroom: Trying on Reciprocal Teaching: A Novice’s Struggle Becomes a Veteran’s Success

  Shannon S. Moon

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  Abstract: "Research for the Classroom" publishes mini-studies of ELA classroom practices and suggests ways in which high school and middle school English teachers may study the effectiveness of their pedagogy.

• Teaching Young Adult Literature: Making Magic with YAL

  Jeannette Haskins

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  Abstract: "Teaching Young Adult Literature" describes innovative methods for engaging students in reading, writing, and discussing contemporary and classic literary texts written for adolescents.

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