In this article, the authors share what they learned from their study of writing communities, which they refer to as writing groups, during the 2017-18 school year. The authors propose a conceptual framework for writing groups that engages students in the process of designing and participating as writers with their peers. The framework emphasizes…

Students' attitudes are shaped by what they read. Their perspective determines what each reader chooses to focus on and be aware of while reading. If there is a lack of guided reading or prior experience with a particular topic - such as disability - students may not be aware of its presence in a text, and they may not recognize negative character…

Teachers of writing strive for authenticity. When they ask students to write, they want it to be for authentic purposes. When they engage students in writing processes, they want those to be authentic processes. When they ask students to compose a particular kind of text, thye want those texts to be authentic genres reflecting authentic writing…

"Transcendentalism" refers to philosophical, religious, and literary beliefs held by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Amos Bronson Alcott, and other writers in New England during the 1830s and 1840s. Emerson believed in the significance of one's intuition and individuality. He expresses these beliefs in his…

In this article, the authors describe how integrating music with reading and writing practices stimulated transmediation to (1) honor musical students' identities, (2) deepen readers' meaning making with literature, and (3) invite writers' memories to generate emotional grist for composing poetry. The authors share examples to inspire teachers to…

The tension between teachers' desires to instill independence in students, and students' desires for teachers to provide answers, is a complex one. This article explores a lesson that, with virtually no guidance from the teacher, enhances student independence, engagement, and insight.

For the past ten years, the author has been teaching a dual credit college first-year writing course to seniors in high school. In this article, the author presents a framework for writing instruction and evaluation that centers on students responding to current topics and issues through digital writing for an authentic audience.

In this article, the author reflects on Frantz Fanon's "historico-racial schema" regarding the Black body and shares a personal teaching journey in English education from China to the United States. The author further builds upon Kevin Leander and Gail Boldt's critique of "A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies" to examine the dimension…

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 article, the author discusses how teachers can develop empathy in students through reading and writing about literature, which contributes to their development as citizens in a global community. By choosing texts that trigger empathic reactions, English teachers can help students better understand others' experiences with oppression and…

Thomas Nunnally equates five-paragraph format essays with square cucumbers found at farmer's markets: they have an established structure but no argument. The real square cucumbers are students who need a formula to write competently. By providing students with a real audience, a teacher can show that he or she takes students' desires -- and…

When schools in Arkansas and most of the country shut their physical doors and moved to remote instruction in March 2020, Rachel Evans, Christian Goering, and Seth French planned to engage in a multifaceted experience that bridged personal narrative writing, songwriting, and podcasting. Undaunted by the shutdown, they offered Evans' ninth-grade…

In this article, the English teacher educator authors explore the parallel journeys of their students and themselves that resulted from asking preservice teachers in their methods courses to participate in an assignment specifically crafted to examine the instructors' practice to cultivate reflection on the students' future practices. The authors…

The author argues for and provides examples of nonfiction as a way of bringing truth and beauty into English classrooms.

There are no easy formulas or set rules for how to best teach writing. While the teacher should teach the rules of writing within whole-class lectures, aspects of diversity such as culture, race, class, ability, and gender require teachers to approach students as individuals. This article explores the impact of three key approaches when working…