As English language arts (ELA) teacher educators committed to growing students' passion for reading, writing, and thinking critically, the authors acknowledge the impact that emerging digital technologies have on educational practices. Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is one such technology that has sparked both excitement and concern.…

"Pre-K Stories" offers a lively exploration of how one classroom community played with and collaboratively engaged in authorship. Through everyday stories, readers are invited to witness and engage with classroom practices that honor young children's brilliance and build on their questions, interests, and strengths. Weaving together…

The narrow teaching of writing that had been common in schools for hundreds of years was challenged in the 1980s by 'one of the most seductive writers in the history of writing pedagogy'. Donald Graves's process approach to writing, as it came to be known, was popular in Australia, New Zealand, USA and the UK. At the heart of Graves's approach was…

This article describes how four English language arts teachers formed an inquiry group to design approaches to writing assessment that would support and foster student writers' agency, empowerment, and freedom. They hoped that by focusing assessment on students' articulation of their writing processes rather than on rubrics or final products, they…

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…

In this experimental nonfiction essay, the author recounts her (many) experiences with having her creative work rejected by mainstream outlets. Detailing the blessing and the curse that is the "Ctrl Find" command, she pokes fun at the creative writing process, and links her difficulties as a writer to her work as a middle school Language…

In this article, the author describes her use of dramatic performance to promote tellability in narrative writing within a seventh and eighth grade English and language arts classroom. By experiencing dramatic performance, the students were able to actively and physically perform the writing process: brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing.…

As both a teacher and a parent, Ranck-Buhr knows a little something about working with students and keeping them engaged in the reading and writing processes... even recalling a son who was a reluctant book-report writer until he was offered some choice of reading material. She suggests practical ways to implement two vital elements in the…

In two projects described in this article, the authors discuss the use of Photovoice and Elder Interviews to draw upon visual and spoken forms of community-based literacy, generate ideas for written projects, promote a connection to community and culture, and engage students in critical analysis of writing process. Both projects took place in…

Widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the United States has resulted in an unprecedented set of national secondary school writing standards that shift responsibility for writing instruction across content areas. As secondary school teachers grapple with these new demands, this article proposes that WAC can serve as a key…

Standards can aid educators as they work to produce strong student writers who can create meaningful and skillfully crafted authentic pieces of writing. This once-a-month, yearlong professional development program, conducted during the school day, shifted a district's kindergarten writing program to a writing workshop model that enabled the…

This article describes the process used by one high school teacher to incorporate writing into her classroom. The teacher made several modifications to her curriculum to provide her students with opportunities to engage in online research, and produce text for real-world audiences. The students' comments indicate that although they were initially…

The evolution of a writing project in a language arts methods course provided the author, a teacher educator, an opportunity to reformat a writing assignment so that students would be encouraged to write for an authentic audience. The author reflects on a series of changes made to a writing project assigned as part of a language arts methods…

An innovative, practical guide for middle and high school teachers, this book is packed with specific ways that technology can help serve the goals of effective writing instruction. It provides ready-to-implement strategies for teaching students to compose and edit written work electronically; conduct Internet inquiry; create blogs, websites, and…

With the increasing curricular demands on teachers, many educators wonder if students find adequate opportunities to think. While visiting educators and students in Franklin County, Tennessee, a college instructor discovered a successful program designed to help students think in meaningful ways about their lives. The contest, established by Sir…