Voices from the Middle, Vol. 6, No. 4, May 1999

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Teaching for Social Justice

• Writing to Think Critically: The Seeds of Social Action

  Randy Bomer

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  Abstract: Discusses how English/language-arts teachers can actively teach students to use a socially critical lens for thinking. Considers three modes of teaching this. Discusses how, once students have a least 10 notebook entries focused on social issues, "noticings," and questions, they should be able to reread their notebooks for themes that have captured their attention.

  Keywords: Middle, Literacy, Pedagogy, Writing

• Turning Ripples into Waves: Convincing Kids They Can Make a Difference

  Paige Passis

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  Abstract: Describes a 10-week unit in an eighth-grade English class focusing on social-action writing. Describes how the process involved convincing students of their ability to make a difference, studying persuasive writing, reading and discussing to wake up their social consciences, using various strategies to choose topics, and finally culminating in brochures written, designed and produced by small groups of students.

  Keywords: Middle, Literacy, Pedagogy, School-Community Relation, Writing

• Flowers on the Wall: Human Rights, One Story at a Time

  Linda Rief with Chris Hall

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  Abstract: Describes how, after studying the Holocaust and other human-rights issues in their eighth-grade language-arts classes, students felt compelled to create a permanent memorial and reminder. Discusses how the project unfolded from finding and shaping an idea, collecting stories from around the nation, crafting the mosaic and the flower garden, and finding words for the experience in their writing.

  Keywords: Middle, Diversity, Literacy, Pedagogy

• Dramatized Experience: Civil Discourse, Sensitive Issues

  Tom Romano

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  Abstract: Describes the author's experience when the director and teacher-trainers of a writing program persuaded him that the oral interpretation he wished them to perform was too troubling and explosive to use. Outlines his questions and anguish about the incident, and the urgency of dealing with the dilemmas of multiculturalism, racial intolerance, and the teaching of writing.

  Keywords: Middle, Diversity, Professional Development

• Message from the Editors

  Linda Rief and Maureen Barbieri

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  Abstract: All learning - all education - is about becoming good human beings and making the world a better place. In this themed issue, "Teaching for Social Justice," the teachers and students written about in each article are already making a difference. We hope that their stories inspire you to examine problems and injustices in your lives, your community, and your world, and ask yourselves: "What can my students and I do about it?"

  Keywords: Middle

• Southern Woman (poem)

  Vivian Morriss Johnson

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  Abstract: In her poem, Johnson shuns the myth of the Southern Belle, in favor of more realistic versions: the women in her family.

  Keywords: Middle

• Her Place (poem)

  Terry Martin

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  Abstract: Martin's poem paints a serene picture of nature, youth, and the power of reading.

  Keywords: Middle

• Clip & File - Center Insert

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• Index for Volume 6

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

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