English Journal, Vol. 99, No. 2, November 2009

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Have We Killed Imagination?

• Call for Manuscripts

• From the Editor

  Ken Lindblom

• From the Secondary Section: Reimagining English: The Seven Personae of the Future

  Jim Burke

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

• EJ Extra: Literary “Two Cows” Stories

  Aaron Pauls

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  Abstract: What if "two cow" stories were written by famous literary figures?

• Speaking My Mind: If You Could Give Your Students Only One Thing, What Would It Be?

  Mark Maxwell

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

• EJ in Focus: Imagining a Place for Creative Nonfiction

  Douglas Hesse

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  Abstract: Taking literary license can make nonfiction writing as imaginative as fiction, poetry, and drama.

• Writing That Excites and Educates: A Class Novel

  Susanne Nobles

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  Abstract: Would you assign each of your students to write a novel? How about if they write one together?

• Using Picture Books to Expand Adolescents’ Imaginings of Themselves and Others

  Cheryl Taliaferro

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  Abstract: Taliaferro uses African books for children to help her students build cultural knowledge that informs their reading of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.

• Imagination and Learning: Students Living “Real” Lives during the Civil War

  Lori W. Kloehn

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  Abstract: Dear General: I’m an American student in 2009 studying the Civil War. What was it like to be there? I look forward to your reply. (And this student will get one.)

• The Things They [All] Carried: Discovering Theme through Imagined Stories of Votive Offerings

  Amy J. Krajeck

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  Abstract: Gifts left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial inspire Krajeck’s students to imagine the stories those artifacts tell.

• Reimagining Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” through Visual and Performing Arts Projects

  Judy Rowe Michaels

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  Abstract: Creative personal response, mixed media, and audience awareness bring contemporary flair to an enduring literary classic.

• Cultural and Political Vignettes in the English Classroom: Problem-Posing, Problem-Solving, and the Imagination

  Jacqueline Darvin

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  Abstract: Addressing real social issues requires intelligence, determination, and imagination. Darvin suggests ways for helping students develop these skills.

• “To carve out new orders in experience”: Imagination in a Social Action Literacy Project

  Shira Eve Epstein

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  Abstract: Epstein’s students don’t just have the potential to change the world. They are already changing it.

• Weaving Imagination into an Academic Framework: Attitudes, Assignments, and Assessments

  Jeanetta Miller

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  Abstract: The “Proteus Project” and Occasional Papers give Miller’s students the time and impetus to synthesize, innovate, and lead—important skills that require careful assessment.

• Imagine Creating Rubrics That Develop Creativity

  Linda Payne Young

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  Abstract: Can we really assess creativity? Can we really not?

• 2008 Honor List—A Shifting of Paradigms

  Alleen Pace Nilsen, James Blasingame Jr., and Kenneth L. Donelson

• Poem: Piano Lessons with Jane

  Margaret K. Menges

• Poem: Fall Semester

  Teresa Chuc Dowell

• Poem: Many Small Thanks

  Francis E. Kazemek

• Poem: The Fold

  Melissa P. Leighty

• Poem: Test Day in Senior High

  Richard Fenton Sederstrom

• Poem: Writer

  George Ella Lyon

• Poem: Dinnertime in Thebes

  J. Scott Shields

• Mentoring Matters: Do I Stay or Do I Go?

  Steven T. Bickmore

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

• Research for the Classroom: On the Ground: Applying Current Research in a High School Classroom

  Melanie Mayer

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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.

• Success with ELLs: Working for and with Latino/Latina Immigrant Newcomers in the English Language Arts Classroom

  Bernadette Musetti, Spencer Salas, and Theresa Perez

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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.

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