English Journal, Vol. 102, No. 1, September 2012

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Characters and Character

• Call for Manuscripts [FREE ACCESS]

• From the Editor [FREE ACCESS]

  Ken Lindblom

• High School Matters: What Happens in Vegas . . . Ends Up in Your Classroom [FREE ACCESS]

  Kay Parks Haas

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

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

• High School Matters: Literacy Is More Than Books and Pens

  Anna J. Small Roseboro

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

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

• EJ Extra: 2011 Honor List: From Small-Town America to New Treatments of Old Myths and Family Stories

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

• Speaking My Mind: Breaking Down Literature Boxes While Traveling with the Little Prince

  Sharilyn C. Steadman

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: “Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.

• Speaking My Mind: A Billable Services List: Paying Teachers More Like Doctors

  Beth Aviv

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: “Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.

• EJ in Focus: Superman Is Dead: How We Help Students Make Sense of Literary Characters [FREE ACCESS]

  Barry Gilmore

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: A student’s fascination with the Man of Steel inspires this teacher and well-known author to ask three deep questions about how we can and should engage with charactersin English class.

• Making Characters Come Alive: Using Characters for Identification and Engagement

  Jocelyn A. Chadwick

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Alienation and derived identity form the basis for several activities that can encourage adolescents to connect with works by Amy Tan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston,and Sandra Cisneros.

• The Quest of Father and Son: Illuminating Character Identity, Motivation,and Conflict in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road

  Chris Gilbert

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: A post-apocalyptic novel provides the impetus for discussions of literature, love, and what people really need.

• Challenging Characters: Learning to Reach Inward and Outward from Characters Who Face Oppression

  Betina Hsieh

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Characters who face difficult circumstances—such as Anne Frank and characters from “Am I Blue?” and A Child Called “It”—inspire deep connections and increasedreading skills.

• How to Live? What We Can Learn from Ivan Ilych’s Death

  Maryann Felps

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Can the death of a 19th-century Russian bureaucrat breathe life into 21st-century American students?

• Minds and Hearts: Using Jeannette Walls’s Memoir, The Glass Castle, to Teach Emotional Intelligence

  Andrea Irvin

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: A memoir of a dysfunctional childhood inspires students in a high-poverty district to develop strength, empathy, and hope.

• Odysseus Deconstructed: Crossing the Threshold into Critical Thinking [FREE ACCESS]

  Emily Nicole Howell

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Is Odysseus really a hero to today’s students? Join this high school English teacher’s quest to find out.

• Teaching Classic Literature with Comic Books and Virtual Lit Trips

  Nancy B. Sardone

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Sardone’s suggested activities can really take students places!

• Putting Characters First in a Middle School Classroom

  Amanda Sass-Henke

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Technology-rich activities help this middle school teacher’s students develop the kinds of personal connections with Percy Jackson, White Fang, and others that she had withNancy Drew and Scarlett O’Hara.

• Most Likely to Succeed: Seeking Self-Knowledge in the Company of Characters

  Kate Ehrenfeld Gardoqui

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Following this author’s innovative suggestions for studying characters may earn you Most Interesting Literature Teacher.

• Poem: How Many Times Can You Teach Macbeth

  N.C. Krim

• Poem: Teaching the Iliad to Tenth Graders

  Marilyn Pryle

• Mentoring Matters: Positioning Student Teachers as Powerful Partners: Dancing without Bruised Toes

  Melinda J. McBee Orzulak

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

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

• Research for the Classroom: The Blue Glow from the Back Row: Live Theater and the Wireless Teen

  John M. Richardson

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  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: Why Should We Have All the Fun? Encouraging Colleagues to Read YA Novels across the Curriculum [FREE ACCESS]

  Mike Roberts

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

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

• Success with ELLs: Developing Collaborative Systems for Learning

  Sarah Cacicio

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: "Success with ELLs" suggests effective approaches to teaching English language learners in ways that can be of benefit to all students in  mainstream middle and high school English classes.

* Journal articles are provided in PDF format and can be opened using the free Adobe® Reader® program or a comparable viewer. Click here to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Reader.