In this article, the authors explore multimodal literacies and how they use literacy contracts and quadrants to help students to examine their identities via writing and the creative arts. A notable outcome of their joint efforts is that when teachers and students transacted with multimodal literacies, they showed value for their personal and…

This article, based on a study in a sixth-grade middle school classroom in the rural southern United States, details a writing project that questions the nature of text and how text might positively affect students' perceptions as they become change agents for their communities.

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…

Teachers know that the most valuable learning occurs in classrooms where a sense of community exists. Community encourages rich learning because of the interactions among many individuals, not the limited, two-way exchange of ideas or information that is often the case when students fail to form a community. But what makes a community?…

Literature that provokes readers to engage in activism is the author's favorite type of writing. For years she has celebrated the tradition of counterculture authors who advocated for a cause, using narratives to educate the world and elicit change. As a culminating project after a year of embracing dialogue and promoting writing for power, she…

In an effort to introduce students to a relatively new genre and allow them to evaluate it in the context of how they had been taught in the past, the author created an assignment about graphic novels and literacy that guided students through four short papers, forming a longer research paper for a final project. The students would begin with a…

The author believes that imagination is alive in the high school classroom, but it is pale and sickly, suffering from a long decline in which teachers have confined it to its most decorous forms of expression--inference and interpretation--and become ambiguous about whether or not it is truly welcome. To rouse imagination in the high school…

The key to establishing a defense against plagiarism is understanding the reasons that students engage in the process in the first place. Many students enter new grade levels academically unprepared for new challenges. When students encounter gaps between knowledge and the expectations of the classroom, some engage in unethical practices to propel…

In the May 2009 issue of "English Journal", we reported on our analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to provide a first look at changes in the teaching of writing over the past 30 years. In this article, we provide a more detailed look, drawing on data collected from visits to 260 English, math, social…

Today, many students not only access the Internet through desktop and laptop computers at home or at school but also have copious amounts of information at their fingertips via portable devices (e.g., iPods, iPads, netbooks, smartphones). While some teachers welcome the proliferation of portable technologies and easy wireless Internet access, and…

Rethinking homework is a necessary step in improving teaching. Effective homework benefits students by taking into account their individual differences, while offering teachers greater control in their planning. In essence, rethinking homework takes teachers back to teaching, and to the question of what educators want students to come away from…

Describes a writing assignment that uses metaphors to encourage students to rethink their assumptions about writing and about themselves as writers. Discusses metaphors of process and speed, fear and courage, control, silence, and metaphors as invitations. (PRA)

Explains a writing assignment called "occasional paper," a brief written reflection that is read aloud and discussed but not turned in. Notes that it is important that these papers be easy to write. Contends that since adolescents experience nearly everything as personal, the occasional paper offers them an entry into thinking that is abstract and…

Criticizes teaching formal, impersonal writing and argues for teaching that encourages students to write about what they know and love as they discover who they are and why words matter. (PRA)

Describes a multigenre research paper assignment noting how the teacher guided the students with ideas and encouragement. Presents individual students' experiences with the multigenre projects. Discusses the instructor's political agenda, which was based on equality, empathy, and optimism. Concludes that a multigenre research paper takes more time…