Discusses the influence of a summer institute on the development of an American Literature curriculum for middle school. Notes resulting teaching strategies include: researching archives with students to supplement textbook material; providing field trips; creating personal archival collections with students; pairing texts; and mixing media from…

Discusses a summer institute that examined the shifting shape of American Literature, and teaching American Literature. Includes ways in which students help "make" literature with their own writing. Discusses the contributions of new technologies, pairing unlikely combinations of texts, and including middle school teachers who teach…