We live in what a growing number of scientists call the Anthropocene. Combining the Greek root word anthrop- (human) and the suffix -cene (new or recent), the Anthropocene is a period of time in which human activity is understood to have grown so impactful as to alter Earth's conditions. Examples of these planetary changes include (but are not…

The climate crisis raises questions such as: Why are corporations continuing to produce plastic for their products when more sustainable solutions are available? Does recycling make a difference? Can oil companies be "green" and "sustainable," as their ads claim? Why are factories, landfills, and extraction sites located where…

When a student in a community-based writing program asked to write science fiction (SF), rather than a personal essay, he prompted the staff to expand the scope of the program's curriculum. This article describes how SF became another avenue for discussing community change. However, instead of just evaluating their worlds and writing about what…

Having students read news articles or novels, watch television snippets, engage in class discussions, essay-writing, emailing, and drafting letters are excellent ways to broach any number of society's systemic and oppressive social maladies. Engaging in these activities in the English language arts classroom can serve as a catalyst to encourage…

The 2018 "English Journal" young adult honor list selections are an amazing mix of truth and fiction, fact and fantasy. The protagonists, five females and one male, all demonstrate what it means to follow your heart and speak your truth. Consideration of young adult books for inclusion in the 2018 Honor List begins in January and…

For almost thirty years, Alleen Pace Nilsen, in collaboration with an illustrious cast of scholars, including Kenneth Donelson, James Blasingame Jr., and Don Nilsen, have authored the yearly Honor List for prize-winning YA books. Their contributions have helped thousands of teachers and librarians select appropriate quality literature for their…

In this article, the authors begin this inquiry by describing their research with a class of middle school writers who played "Quandary," a free online educational game designed to teach argumentation, as part of a unit on writing arguments for environmental action. Regarding the subject area of English language arts (ELA), research has…

Located in the suburbs of a large midwestern city, Trail Middle School serves a predominantly middle-class population. The data the authors feature in this article include group discussions and interviews with students, as well as recordings of in-class lessons, student work, and fieldnotes. The authors focus on the theme of gender as it emerged…

Educational simulations provide students authentic contexts. These authentic contexts require situated and complex real-world arguments. Such writing scenarios help students recognize why there are often multiple interpretations of evidence, who their audience is, what they want, and what kind of genre is needed. Playable Case Studies help…

According to the authors, Horizon Writing Project (HWP), is a collaborative research project that emerged from a mentorship program implemented for language arts teachers in southern Alberta, Canada. Seven English teachers participated in the project: Rita, Sean, Jaimie, Taylor, and Kacie, who teach senior high, and Keith and Lindsey, who teach…