English Journal
Vol. 108, No. 3, January 2019
Members of the Secondary Section Steering Committee comment on topics of importance to English language arts educators.
SPEAKING MY MIND: Bearing Witness: Oral Storytelling in the Classroom
Subscription Only
“Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.
SPEAKING MY MIND: When the Book Is Worth the Risk
Subscription Only
“Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.
“SOUNDS LIKE TRUTH AND FEELS LIKE COURAGE”: TEACHING VULNERABILITY
Subscription Only
Teaching a senior seminar on creative nonfiction led Sarah Gompers to consider how she might help her students understand the concept of writing with vulnerability.
ON STAGE NEXT: ROOKIE TEACHER TAKES A RISK
Subscription Only
A teacher’s willingness to perform an autobiographical spoken word poem in his classroom provided an important model for students as they composed and shared their own slam-style poems.
“MY LIFE, MY STORIES”: READING, WRITING, AND BELONGING IN THE ESL CLASSROOM [FREE ACCESS]
Collaborating to develop a curriculum for English learners, a teacher and a teacher educator focused on creating a sense of belonging, both in the United States and in the classroom.
COMUNIDAD DE CUENTISTAS: MAKING SPACE FOR INDIGENOUS AND LATINX STORYTELLERS
Subscription Only
Mentors used community-building and story-sharing activities to support writing for a group of middle schoolers participating in the Nuestros Cuentos program.
(RE)WRITING REALITY: USING SCIENCE FICTION TO ANALYZE THE WORLD
Subscription Only
When a student in a community-based writing program asked to write science fiction, rather than a personal essay, he prompted the staff to expand the scope of the program’s curriculum.
“CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF”: LITERACY AS A CONSCIOUS TOOL OF HEALING [FREE ACCESS]
Writing autobiographical dialogues about difficult moments from the past helped Phillip Wilder’s sophomores reframe and reimagine those moments.
COMPOSING PROXIMITY: TEACHING STRATEGIC DISTANCE TO HIGH SCHOOL WRITERS
Subscription Only
A university researcher and two teachers describe a writing approach that offers students more autonomy as they share information about their lives in the classroom.
VOICE AND EXPERIENCE: FORMING COUNTER-NARRATIVES THROUGH PERSONAL POETRY [FREE ACCESS]
While teaching in Taiwan, Ah-Young Song found that a creative writing unit invited her English language learners to explore issues of agency and identity.
COMPOSING THE FUTURE: YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE AND SPECULATIVE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Subscription Only
Teacher educator James R. Gilligan developed a set of autobiographical assignments based on characters in YA lit that invite students to “flash-forward” in their lives, imagining the future.
A CASE FOR TEACHING BIOGRAPHY-DRIVEN WRITING IN ELA CLASSROOMS
Subscription Only
A former classroom teacher recalls the power of teaching memoir in her classroom and laments the shift away from biography-driven writing in high schools.
Subscription Only
Subscription Only
BEYOND BINARY GENDER IDENTITIES; Youth Researchers Wrestling with Gender and Sexuality
Subscription Only
Working in research teams, public school students in New York approached questions about gender identities and sexualities and then, based on their findings, advocated for institutional reforms.
JOURNEYS INWARD: Coming to Academic Voice
Subscription Only
From the school-imposed silence of her own education, the author approaches the intersection of language and controversy with a plan to strengthen student voice.
FROM CAMPUS TO CLASSROOM: Developing as Professionals, Learning as Preservice Teachers
Subscription Only
In this issue’s column, the authors consider how preservice teachers can be actively engaged as learners at the NCTE Annual Convention.
BOOKS-IN-ACTION: Finding Hope While Teaching Controversy [FREE ACCESS]
Reading The Case for Contention spurred the column writers to consider ways of teaching controversial issues that lead teachers and students to find hope in classroom spaces.
CRITICAL GLOBAL LITERACIES: A Place for Local in Critical Global Literacies
Subscription Only
Amy Price Azano champions place-based pedagogies, suggesting that they offer students a locally relevant entry point to access critical global literacies.
Subscription Only
As part of a research project, Jonathan Burton observed a Los Angeles classroom where the teacher had developed a “culturally sustaining” approach to teaching Shakespeare.
BOOKENDED: The Poetry of Forbidden Books
Subscription Only
This feature includes essays from YA authors reflecting on their high school English experiences. In this piece, Aaron Hartzler remembers the books he wasn't supposed to read.