The author's eighth-grade ELA curriculum is rich with opportunities for students to bear witness to a variety of experiences. Besides the Holocaust unit, they read "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes (2018) while exploring police brutality and segregation; "The Giver" by Lois Lowry (1993) while investigating government…

There is a large body of research regarding the affective and cathartic benefits of literature, both generalized and related to educational contexts. Anecdotal data carry special profundity and pertinence when considering issues of mortality. This article reviews current literature regarding the practices of reading and writing about death.…

To invite students to write about death is to explore an opulent and rich world of sorrow and emotion. It is a world that demands understanding and that engages students in a truly visceral way. And, it is an assignment that incorporates personal discovery with social and political issues, stretching writers in ways that many assignments do not.…

In 2007, Jake, the author's 14-year-old son, died. Though he had a known heart condition, Jake was vibrant and lived a life with no restrictions. The heart attack that killed him was unexpected. As a teacher, the author was left with the question of how to return to the classroom and what she would share with the students. This article explores…

Today, "Night" is probably the most commonly taught work of Holocaust literature in the United States, read by middle school and high school students alike, even though US adolescents were not the author's intended audience. This article offers suggestions for teaching "Night" in ways that engage students, challenge them to…

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…

Research in English education needs further exploration on the purposeful implementation of death and grief within English curriculum. In this article Lori D. Ungemah examines how, as a high school English teacher, she integrated death and grief into a unit of study with her eleventh- grade English class. She discusses how her curriculum…

In this article, the author uses lesson reflection as a way to consider ethical issues that accompany teaching with texts that include death. More specifically, the article examines the relationship between moral education and analytic or skills-based education.

The author argues that English teachers are in a unique position to respond to death through writing, reading, and speaking. She describes four experiences and offers specific, language-based responses guided by experience and literature.

Near the first of every school year, the author has the opportunity to talk to her students about death, usually in the midst of their study of "Beowulf" or "Gilgamesh." Occasionally, the discussion results from the recent news of the death of a public figure or, closer to home, a family member. Regardless of the circumstance, her students learn…

The author's late son Greg, who became known as Stephan Sure, started life as a teacher's and parent's dream. Not so much because he "behaved well" but because he was a natural wordsmith. Stephan's knack for clever language was visible through the years in crisp repartee and hilarious storytelling, but his secret life as a writer didn't fully…

On November 28, 2008, Jdimytai Damour, age 34, was killed by a stampeding mob of customers running to get the day-after-Thanksgiving bargains. Even after customers in the store were informed that four people were injured and one man died, most chose to keep shopping. Looking at the root causes of this unfortunate death, it seems clear that…

High school teacher Mary B. Nicolini designed an assignment that allows sophomore and senior students to examine an issue through an exchange of anonymous letters. Letter writing provides an opportunity for dialogue between peers, helping students critically explore questions about their assigned texts through a safe, informal medium.

One reason zombie films are so frightening, and perhaps so popular, is because zombies represent a unique type of monster. Rather than frightening people because they are so alien to the world as people understand it, zombies are horrifying in how closely they resemble people. Zombies are people and represent the potential of zombie…

Suggests that classroom writing reflect topics that teenagers write about privately, such as powerful events, dreams, or rejected love. Includes a sample student essay on the Challenger disaster. (ARH)