English Journal, Vol. 94, No. 3, January 2005

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Multicultural Literature of the Americas

• Call for Manuscripts

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Letters to EJ

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• In Memoriam: Ted Hipple

  Donald R. Gallo and Joellen Maples

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Secondary Section: From Totems to Hip-Hop in High School

  Dale Allender

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

  Keywords: Secondary

• Snapshots: Miracles and Metaphors

  Kevin P. Carter

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  Abstract: “Snapshots” offers insights about teaching and learning through teacher stories about a particular classroom event.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Speaking My Mind: Our Ambivalence toward Teaching Grammar

  Bill Gribbin

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

  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Editor

  Louann Reid, Editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• The Common Denominator

  Nikki Grimes

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  Abstract: Available in print version only.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Autobiography: Straight Up and with a Twist

  Marie G. Lee

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  Abstract: As an Asian American growing up in the Midwest during the ‘60s and ‘70s, Marie G. Lee just wanted to be “normal.” Now in her writing she uses this background to explore the search for identity in her characters as well as her self.

  Keywords: Secondary

• On the Teaching of Literature

  Julius Lester

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  Abstract: Julius Lester makes the case that subjectivity is the key to rewarding reading experiences. Rather than pinning down the meaning of symbols or using other methods of literary analysis, his readers should be encouraged to “hear the silences between the words.”

  Keywords: Secondary, Reading

• Dear Teacher

  Pat Mora

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  Abstract: Pat Mora, in this letter of praise to educators, suggests that teachers need to be writers to better teach writing. Helping students “bring themselves to the page” through their writing is one way to get them to know the joy of books.

  Keywords: Secondary, Writing

• Writing for the Uninspired Reader

  Walter Dean Myers

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  Abstract: Walter Dean Myers believes that a primary cause of lack of inspiration in readers is their difficulty decoding meaning because of language and societal differences. He strives to reach uninspired readers, particularly those living in the inner city, by writing using their language and contexts.

  Keywords: Secondary, Language, Writing, Reading

• From One Friend to Another

  Naomi Shihab Nye

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  Abstract: Naomi Shihab Nye focuses on connections in her writing, wanting to present “the other” as familiar to her readers, particularly during these times of turmoil in the world. She also wants readers to know how exciting it is for her when readers find in her work what she didn’t realize was there.

  Keywords: Secondary, Writing

• Nemachtilli: The Spirit of Learning

  Luis J. Rodriguez

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  Abstract: Available in print version only.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Open Eyes and Change Lives: Narrative Resources Addressing Gay-Straight Themes

  Alex Sanchez

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  Abstract: Alex Sanchez writes about the importance of having literature with gay-straight themes available to students to help overcome homophobia and provide safer schools for everyone. The responses he’s received to his novels reinforce this idea.

  Keywords: Secondary

• The Importance of Multicultural Themes in Writing and Teaching

  Maureen Crane Wartski

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  Abstract: Maureen Crane Wartski believes that race and ancestry are important parts of identity and uses these themes in her writing. Yet it is the similarities, the shared memories, that allow her character—and, she hopes, her readers as well—to move past difference into friendship and trust.

  Keywords: Secondary, Writing

• The Outsider in Fiction and Fantasy

  Laurence Yep

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  Abstract: For Laurence Yep, the outsider is a dominant theme in writing and life. Whether writing historical and contemporary fiction, science fiction, or fantasy, he hopes that readers will see the magic and wonder in the world that can be found by shifting perspective and seeing “things instead as outsiders.”

  Keywords: Secondary, Writing, Reading

• Taking a Cultural-Response Approach to Teaching Multicultural Literature

  Yu Ren Dong

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  Abstract: High school teachers often feel challenged when working with texts from unfamiliar cultures. Highlighting the use of a cultural-response approach, Yu Ren Dong presents several activities that can give teachers confidence to explore the cultural differences in diverse texts and provide “ways to help their students discuss these differences and enhance cross-cultural understanding.”

  Keywords: Secondary, Diversity

• Teaching Wide Sargasso Sea in New Jersey

  Susan Arpajian Jolley

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  Abstract: Emphasizing experience and understanding, high school teacher Susan Arpajian Jolley uses the related novels Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre to help her students travel into unfamiliar cultural territory while gaining a fuller understanding of both texts and how they are relevant to the issues of today.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Journey toward Multiculturalism

  John A. Poole

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  Abstract: Finding that his rural Idaho students were unable to connect meaningfully with multicultural literature, John A. Poole created a unit supplementing the reading with interviews of community members. He describes the unit’s impact on the sophomores’ appreciation of diversity.

  Keywords: Secondary, Literature, Reading

• Research Matters: The Things We Say

  Rick VanDeWeghe, editor

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  Abstract: “Research Matters” provides teachers with review and application of research that illuminates the daily concerns and activities of English language arts teachers and classrooms.

  Keywords: Secondary

• New Voices: Learning by Teaching Multiculture Literature

  Tiffany J. Hunt and Bud Hunt, Coeditors

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  Abstract: “New Voices” raises questions, offers insights, and provides a forum for novice teachers to engage in the professional conversation surrounding the teaching of English.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Teaching English in the World: Reversing the Decline of Literary Reading

  Kenneth Lindblom, editor

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  Abstract: “Teaching English in the World” examines the teaching of English in a global context.

  Keywords: Secondary

• English in the City: Reading Multicultural Literature in Relation to Our Selves

  Greg Hamilton, editor

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  Abstract: “English in the City” focuses on the particular challenges, choices, and celebrations relevant to teaching in an urban setting.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Taking Time: The Power of Community and Conversation

  Tonya Perry, editor

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  Abstract: “Taking Time” addresses challenges in teaching and curriculum that affect middle level education through focusing on the middle child in urban, rural, and suburban settings.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Professional Links

  Connie S. Zitlow, editor

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  Abstract: “Professional Links” reviews professional books and materials, linking them to complementary software and appropriate Web sites.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Bold Books for Teenagers

  Don Gallo, editor

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  Abstract: “Bold Books for Innovative Teaching (or Teenagers)” provides dynamic, informative viewpoints on important issues in publishing and teaching contemporary literature, especially literature for adolescents. Reviews of young adult literature will also appear in this column.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Poetry

  James Brewbaker, editor

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  Abstract: “Poetry” features poems by teachers and professional poets.

  Keywords: Secondary

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