English Journal, Vol. 89, No. 2, November 1999

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Our Love Affair with Literature

• Stay Tuned for Our Next Episode: Teaching Great Expectations in Installments

  Joe Bucolo

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  Abstract: Details the planning and the specific assignments involved in teaching "Great Expectations" over a period of nine months. Explains how the novel was coordinated with other reading using the themes of Judgment, Influences, and Control.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• Reading, Living, and Loving "Lord of the Flies"

  Wendy L. Sunderman

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  Abstract: Describes a unit plan for teaching "Lord of the Flies" that allows students to respond freely to the reading and to "get out of their seats" and experience the first chapter of the book. Includes guidelines for the response-based approach, for discussion groups, and for character portfolios.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• Young Adult Literature: 1998 Honor List: The Journeys of Our Lives by Alleen Pace Nilsen and Ken Donelson

  Chris Crowe, Editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• A Love Affair with American Literature

  Sue A. Petersen

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  Abstract: Sue A. Petersen discusses how she changed her approach to teaching American literature from a teacher-centered, just-the-classics, new critical approach course for future English teachers to a student-centered, broad-based, reader response literature class designed to hook kids on reading and literature. Peterson includes the booklists from her “seminars” on American literature.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature, Pedagogy, Reading

• Huck Finn: Born to Trouble

  Katherine Schulten

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  Abstract: Describes the process by which Cherry Hill, New Jersey teachers, in cooperation with parents, administrators, and other professionals, developed a curriculum for teaching "Huckleberry Finn" that successfully explores the controversial issues by embedding traditional teaching in a rich, historical, and cultural framework. Provides the "Huck Finn in Context" curriculum.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature, School-Community Relation

• "There It Was, That One Sex Scene": English Teachers on Censorship

  Jane Agee

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  Abstract: Presents the perspectives of five experienced high school English teachers on how the threat of censorship influences their selection of literary works and their teaching methods. Claims teachers need strong support from administrators and professional organizations in order to present a culturally diverse literature curriculum.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature, School-Community Relation

• Tearing Down the Wall: Literature and Science

  Warren B. Westcott and J. Everett Spell

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  Abstract: Suggests English teachers might draw from authors such as Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, Mary Shelly and others: (1) to knock down the walls that separate science and literature; (2) to show their interrelationship; and (3) to instill enthusiasm for the study of both.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• At Home with Poetry: Constructing Poetry Anthologies in the High School Classroom

  Anthony J. Scimone

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  Abstract: Describes the success of a unit for tenth-grade students wherein they created a book of poetry. Provides guidelines for the unit and evaluation criteria. Claims the "books" turned out to be far superior to the "flat pro forma" poetry papers assigned in the past.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• The Africanization of an American Classroom in Hong Kong: The Power of Literature

  Kent Ewing

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  Abstract: Describes a unit of study called "A World Cultures Unit: Africa in a Nutshell," developed for ninth graders at the Hong Kong International School. Claims good literature has the power to make students more perceptive readers, more expressive writers, and more thoughtful speakers. Suggests teachers take literature across the curriculum to make school experiences more enjoyable and meaningful.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• Our Ithacas: A Ninth Grade Reflection

  Mary M. Juzwik

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  Abstract: Describes a unit wherein students reading "The Odyssey" produced visual representations of important story elements, considered differences in Homer's use of language and their own, enacted scenes from "The Odyssey," and wrote goal-setting and interpretive essays.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• Making American Literatures: An Overview

  Anne Ruggles Gere

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  Abstract: Discusses a summer institute that examined the shifting shape of American Literature, and teaching American Literature. Includes ways in which students help "make" literature with their own writing. Discusses the contributions of new technologies, pairing unlikely combinations of texts, and including middle school teachers who teach individual texts, if not a whole course on American Literature.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• Making American Literatures in Middle School

  Laura Schiller

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  Abstract: Discusses the influence of a summer institute on the development of an American Literature curriculum for middle school. Notes resulting teaching strategies include: researching archives with students to supplement textbook material; providing field trips; creating personal archival collections with students; pairing texts; and mixing media from film, to art, to fiction.

  Keywords: Middle, Secondary, Literature

• Making American Literatures in High School

  Peter Shaheen

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  Abstract: Describes how a Martin Luther King Program Series developed from a school-wide effort to "cherish differences and honor common humanity." Provides a brief description of three events from that series: (1) a coffee house poetry night; (2) a Martin Luther King day program; and (3) a Harlem Dance Company program, "Dancing Through Barriers."

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• Building a New Generation of Democratic Citizens through Literature

  Barbara Osburg

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  Abstract: Describes a rigorous English curriculum designed for students of mixed ability and mixed cultural and racial backgrounds using the concept of education for democracy. Details a three-step process built on inheritance, participation, and contribution. Outlines the curriculum that includes a combination of traditional classics and the works of more diverse authors.

  Keywords: Secondary, Diversity, Literature, Pedagogy

• A Message from the Old World to the New: Teaching Classic Fiction through Drama

  Judith Baxter

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  Abstract: Claims Reader Response theories form the basis for helping students to enjoy reading and studying the classics. Discusses: (1) asking students to "step into" and explore the world of the text; and (2) helping students "step out" of the world of the text to consider it analytically. Presents drama activities to help students connect to the classics.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature, Reading

• Speaking My Mind: Why Literature Matters

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  Abstract: Presents 10 specific reasons in response to a student's question "Why should we read literature?" Answers the question from 10 angles: escape, empathy, mirror, time machine, cultural heritage, language, art, "lifesaver," "reading of life," and fear of change.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• From the Secondary Section: One Teacher's Journey to Professionalism

  Charleen Silva Delfino

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  Abstract: Shares insights of an English teacher gained through a variety of teaching experiences. Describes how the Bay Area Writing Project provided effective strategies to improve the teaching of writing.

  Keywords: Secondary, Pedagogy, Writing

• Teacher to Teacher

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  Abstract: Presents four teachers' reasons why they each favor teaching a particular novel. Discusses teaching "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (Ken Kesey), "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (Betty Smith), "My Antonia" (Willa Cather), and "The Wave" (Tod Strasser).

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature

• International English

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  Abstract: Gives examples of successfully exploring the pedagogical possibilities of the Internet in both breaking down the walls of censorship and engaging students in the dialectics necessary to understand their world. Cautions that technological integration of the "global village" must be carefully handled in order to avoid repression of alternative voices and/or cultural annihilation.

  Keywords: Secondary, Pedagogy, Technology

• Lettes to EJ

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  Abstract: Available in print version only.

  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Editor

  Virginia R. Monseau

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• EJ EXTRA: Prose on Prose

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• CROSS CONVERSATIONS: How Can High School Teachers Better Prepare Students for College Literature Study?

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• English in the News

  Bobbi Ciriza Houtchens, Editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• POETRY

  William Greenway, Editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Professional Links: Making Room for Risk

  Louann Reid, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Talk About Books

  John Manear, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

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