English Journal, Vol. 91, No. 2, November 2001

Table of Contents

• Beyond Filling Out Forms: A More Powerful Version of Workplace Literacy

  Jacqueline Darvin

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  Abstract: In this article, Jacqueline Darvin shares her observations of her students--self-proclaimed poor readers--reading highly technical professional texts, and writing articulate journal entries. She also provided ideas for creating a more powerful vocational English curriculum by integrating creative writing assignments with the reading of informational texts.

  Keywords: Secondary, Assessment, Literacy, Pedagogy, Standards, Professional Development

• Weaving Workplace Writing into the English Classroom

  Bruce Robbins

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  Abstract: In many school districts and states, there is a trend towards addressing workplace literacy within the English class, but how can that be done in an already overcrowded curriculum? Rather than reducing traditional curriculum to make room for workplace training, Robbins suggests ways to use the functions of workplace documents--such as memos, status reports, and newsletters--to support work routinely done in the classroom.

  Keywords: Secondary, Assessment, Pedagogy, Writing

• The Missing Link between School and Work: Knowing the Demands of the Workplace

  Judith Cape Craig

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  Abstract: In this teacher research project, Craig helps you to answer your students when they ask, "Why do we have to learn this stuff?" Here she reports on the results of a survey that asked workers at various skill levels about the type and quantity of reading and writing in the workplace, as well as details related to quality standards. The results underscore the importance of many things currently taught in the English classroom, and suggest steps to take to strengthen the connection between school and work.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Prewriting, Planning, and Professional Communication

  Elizabeth Blackburn-Brockman

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  Abstract: Students may have an oversimplified notion of what it means to prewrite, suggests the author, and they could grow by analyzing and experimenting with alternative forms of prewriting exercises. Citing a case study by Jack Selzer, in which he observes a professional writer who did not write drafts, Blackburn-Brockman reminds us that research, interviews, related reading, and content grouping, are all valuable prewriting activities, and she suggests how this professional writer's tasks might translate into classroom activities.

  Keywords: Middle, Secondary, Assessment, Pedagogy, Writing

• Telling the Tale: Sharing Elie Wiesel's Night with Middle School Readers

  Alexander A. Hernandez

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  Abstract: The job of teachers, explains Hernandez, is to impart lessons from the past to the next generation. Here he explains how he uses Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel's autobiography, Night, in a nine-week unit on tolerance and prejudice, and relates how his tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau personalized his classroom instruction and affected his students' responses to the concept of bearing witness and to Weisel's autobiography.

  Keywords: Secondary, Diversity, Literature, Pedagogy, Writing, Reading

• How Comic Books Can Change the Way Our Students See Literature: One Teacher's Perspective

  Rocco Versaci

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  Abstract: A delicate balance exists between passing on our literary judgments and encouraging students to develop theirs, says Versaci, and the challenge begins in the middle and high school classroom, where teachers must present literature at once in a way that interests students and teaches them to evaluate literature. One way to do this, he suggests, is to use comic books. In this article he details the many merits of using comics and graphic novels in the classroom, suggests how they can be integrated into historical and social issues units, and recommends several titles.

  Keywords: Secondary

• "Challenge Us; I Think We're Ready": Establishing a Multicultural Course of Study

  Nancy W. Robinson

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  Abstract: When changing standards forced the faculty of a predominantly white, white-collar secondary school in suburban Philadelphia to address multicultural education to include more minority writers, the teachers were up to the task. Here, Robinson outlines the multicultural literature program, which includes an author lecture series. She describes the progress thus far and the plans for the future, noting that taking a global perspective of literature provides students with a complete picture of the real world.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Language: A Pernicious and Powerful Tool

  Jessica Parker

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  Abstract: Two principles guide Parker's teaching: first is the belief that curriculum should connect with life, and second, is that she has an obligation to promote tolerance and acceptance of homosexuality. An important aspect of this is revealing to her students her own sexual orientation. In this article, she explains why she exposes her personal life, and describes how she creates a dialogue with her students about homosexuality, beginning with how the word "gay" is used in everyday language, specifically as a term to belittle peers. She also explains how infuses gay and lesbian literature with studies of canonical literature.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Grammar without Grammar: Just Playing Around, Writing

  Deborah Dean

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  Abstract: Bored and discouraged by workbook style grammar instruction, Dean took example from the past and implemented sentence imitation in her classroom. In this article, she explains how she uses passages from literature for grammatical patterns and allows her students to apply their creativity in writing sentences imitating the same form. The method has many benefits, says Dean. Students get to practice grammatical structure without being weighed down by grammatical terminology, and they gain an understanding of how to look at what they read as a model for what they want to say.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Lighting the Flame: Teaching High School Students to Love, Not Loathe, Literature

  Michael Milburn

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  Abstract: In this article, Milburn takes a critical view of a recent article appearing in Harper's magazine, in which the author condemns English teachers and the materials they teach as the reason students learn to loathe literature. On the contrary, says Milburn: every day kids show us how to help them love literature; all we have to do is listen.

  Keywords: Middle, Secondary, Assessment, Literature, Pedagogy, Professional Development

• An Attitude Adjustment: How I Reached My Reluctant Readers

  Kimberly Gutchewsky

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  Abstract: Gutchewsky tells how she incorporated researched approaches to reading in her classroom

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature, Pedagogy, Research, Reading

• From the Editor

  Virginia R. Monseau

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  Abstract: The editor shares her experience of finding a school newspaper from 1979. An article written by former student inspires her to reflect on the personal connections she's made with her students throughout the years.

  Keywords: Secondary

• EJ Extra: A Visit from Dewey Neill

  Gregory Shafer

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  Abstract: In this narrative, a teacher argues with a new student who won't take a state-mandated exam… or does she?

  Keywords: Secondary

• Speaking My Mind: The Problems with Feel-Good Education

  Andrew Reiner

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  Abstract: Teaching students-feel good curriculum that nurtures their self-esteem, says Reiner, has been done to the detriment of self-respect and confidence that they deserve. It has denied them of a sense of responsibility for their own grades and behaviors and has prompted them to seek quick fixes and easy answers.

  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Secondary Section: NCTE Secondary Section Activities

  Dave Wendelin, Chair

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  Abstract: The Secondary Section Steering Committee remains focused on one of its major goals - secondary reading - and thus continues to sponsor reading workshops that invite secondary teachers to learn about and share experiences with the challenge of incorporating reading instruction into the secondary curriculum.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Cross Conversations

  Sherri A. Whiteman and Jay L. Gordon

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  Abstract: In the Internet Age, the price of an 'A' is $9.95. Is there a solution to Internet Plagiarism? In this exchange of ideas, two teachers argue the possibilities.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Insights for Interns

  Christina Vanoverbeke and Judy Cavanaugh

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  Abstract: Vanoverbeke, a pre-service teacher, wonders: How does a teacher strike a balance between not caring at all and caring so much about students that it affects health and well-being? Cavanaugh responds with advice and words of encouragement.

  Keywords: Secondary

• FOR FUN: Same Name Fame Game

  Stephen Sniderman

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  Abstract: Answers can be found in this issue at the end of "English in the News."

  Keywords: Secondary

• English in the News

  Bobbi Ciriza Houtchens, editor

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  Abstract: Recent news stories related to literacy, literature, and language arts.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Learning with Technology: An End to Intolerance: Exploring the Holocaust and Genocide

  Trevor Owen, editor, and Honey Kern

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  Abstract: Kern writes about how preparing an online learning project about the Holocaust has informed her thinking about classroom-based teaching practices.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Poetry

  David Hassler, editor

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  Abstract: Poems by Robert Fox and Bonnie Bishop.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Professional Links: The Power of Words: Teaching Writing, Vocabulary, and Literary Classics

  Connie S. Zitlow, editor

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  Abstract: The three books reviewed in this column show ways that we as teachers can engage our students in learning more about what words can accomplish and what they convey in various kinds of writing.

  Keywords: Middle

• Talk About Books: Fathers and Sons

  John Noell Moore, editor

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  Abstract: This month's column explores the relationship between fathers and sons in My Old Man and the Sea, by Wallace Green, and Jim the Boy, by Tom Earley.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Young Adult Literature: 2000 Honor List: A Hopeful Bunch

  Chris Crowe, editor

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  Abstract: This month's column features the 2001 honor list of new YA books.

  Keywords: Secondary

• LETTERS TO EJ

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

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