English Journal, Vol. 98, No. 2, November 2008

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Does Homework Help?

• Call for Manuscripts

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Editor

  Ken Lindblom

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• From the Secondary Section: Questioning Homework

  Kay Parks Haas

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

  Keywords: Secondary

• EJ Extra: The Five-Paragraph Essay and the Deficit Model of Education

  Lil Brannon, Jennifer Pooler Courtney, Cynthia P. Urbanski, et al.

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  Abstract: “Speaking My Mind” essays, Writing Project colleagues explain why using the five-paragraph essay for teaching writing is ill-advised.

  Keywords: Secondary

• EJ in Focus: Homework on Homework: Involving Students with a Controversial Issue

  Ben F. Nelms

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  Abstract: As he suggests useful ways to talk and listen to students about homework, a veteran English teacher and teacher educator surveys the most significant current scholarship on the homework controversy.

  Keywords: Secondary

• The Facebook Generation: Homework as Social Networking

  Stacy M. Kitsis

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  Abstract: Rather than fight the lure of the Internet for teens, this high school teacher has found ways to harness students’ interests by creating electronic homework assignments.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Death of the 3"× 5" Note Cards

  Dani Weber and Mike Smithmier

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  Abstract: A high school student and her teacher tell the story of how they brought a traditional research paper strategy into the 21st century.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Homework and the Gradual Release of Responsibility: Making “Responsibility” Possible

  Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

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  Abstract: Combining practical suggestions with references to research, Fisher and Frey help teachers encourage students to take ownership of their assignments.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Doing Our Homework on Homework: How Does Homework Help?

  Buffy Sallee and Neil Rigler

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  Abstract: Over 180 students were surveyed to enable these high school teachers to rethink what works for homework and what doesn’t.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Twenty in a Year! Discovering a Prince in a Library of Frogs

  Amanda Stovall

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  Abstract: This first-year English teacher made a deal with her students: No other homework this year, if you read 20 books on your own. Did it work?

  Keywords: Secondary

• Constructing Complexity: Using Reading Levels to Differentiate Reading Comprehension Activities

  Declan FitzPatrick

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  Abstract: An English teacher turned curriculum coordinator updates Hillocks’s reading levels to create a method for improving students’ reading comprehension and critical-thinking skills.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Encouraging Student Voice in Academic Writing

  Rebecca Gemmell

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  Abstract: This twelfth-grade English teacher couldn’t help but dread grading piles of students’ essays, until she began to employ Writer’s Notebooks in her class.

  Keywords: Secondary

• “[T]his book of odd tales / which transform the Brothers Grimm”: Teaching Anne Sexton’s Transformations

  Karen A. Keely

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  Abstract: A high school English teacher finds Sexton’s retold fairy tales can spark students’ imaginations while helping them learn to analyze literature.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Advanced Placement Courses Put the Squeeze on English Electives

  Peter Daddone

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  Abstract: Why is enrollment in his successful journalism course waning? This school newspaper adviser gets the story.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Deployment: A Series of Haikus (Poem)

  Christopher P. Collins

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Eternal Lines (Poem)

  E. Alex Pierce

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• No One Reported Her Missing (a retirement fantasy) (Poem)

  Nancy Krim

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Adolescents and Texts: Overserved or Underserved? A Focus on Adolescents and Texts

  Alfred W. Tatum, Editor

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  Abstract: "Adolescents and Texts" focuses on adolescent literacy and the teaching of reading in high school and middle school.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Mentoring Matters: Retaining Quality Teachers Is the Real Test

  Thomas M. McCann and Larry Johannessen, Editors

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

  Keywords: Secondary

• Off the Shelves: Catch a Rising YA Star

  Mark Letcher, Editor

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  Abstract: "Off the Shelves" discusses new young adult literature and explores ways of teaching YA texts in middle and high school English classes.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Research for the Classroom: Formative Assessment: Can You Handle the Truth?

  Julie Gorlewski, Editor

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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.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Success with ELLs: Modifying Lessons for English Language Learners

  Margo DelliCarpini, Editor

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  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.

  Keywords: Secondary

• Speaking My Mind: Prompt Attention: What I Learned from the Plagiarists

  Barry Gilmore

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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

• Speaking My Mind: Stupid Questions

  Jeffrey Hudson

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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

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