Education Commons^™

Reading On The Ropes: A Pilot Study Of An Accelerated Remediation Program With Alternative High School Students, Joanne V. Coggins, Laura C. Briggs

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

High school students must read to learn curriculum, yet few interventions are proven to substantially help close literacy gaps for older students with reading deficits. Students with large literacy deficits particularly benefit from explicit, systematic instruction of interventions emphasizing the structure of language (i.e., phonology, orthography, syntax, morphology, semantics, pragmatics), aspects of cognition (i.e., problem solving, attention, reasoning, and inferencing), and organization of spoken and written language.

A 14-week pilot study of Readable English, a reading intervention using these structured literacy elements, provided embedded interactive orthography to scaffold online grade level content for students at two alternative high schools ( …

Hook’D On Ebonics And Black Texts: Enacting An Engaged Pedagogy In An 11th Grade Ela Classroom, Teaira Mcmurtry Phd

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this article, the author discusses the process of creating an engaged pedagogy (hooks, 1994), one that prioritized authentic, engaging, and equally rigorous engagement activities that were ongoing preparation for standardized tests and embedded in core ELA instruction. These learning experiences were not only academically necessary, but they were also integral in developing positive racial identity. The author shares three ways to amplify reading instruction that prepares students for skill-based standardized tests and beyond.

Engaging Students And Teaching Life Skills Through Community Collaboration, Kim Stein

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Collaboration with the Youth First Program of Saginaw increased students' engagement in eleventh-grade English. Students bonded with community partners, their teacher, and their peers in new ways which produced an environment of mutual respect and deeper learning. Students engaged in a debate project which garnered recognition from school administrators and community members, who were influenced to enact positive changes for the school community.

A Restorative Justice Book Club For Secondary Classrooms, Mary M. Mcconnaha

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Schools face several challenges in creating meaningful community relationships, and the breakdown of these relationships causes harm to students, teachers, and administrators. Many schools have turned to restorative justice practices as a way to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, reduce discipline referrals, increase graduation rate, and strengthen the school community (Evans & Lester, 2013; Winn et al., 2019; Weaver and Swank, 2020). However, Winn (2013, 2018) and others have proposed that the principles of restorative justice can be embedded into the English Language Arts curriculum. In this paper, I describe a restorative justice book club unit for early adolescents that is …

Building Sustainable Antiracist Coalition: Developing A Research Team For Studying Diverse Language And Literacy Practices At The University, Nicole L.G. Varty, Adrienne Jankens, Linda Jimenez, Anna Lindner, Mariel Krupansky

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In the face of so many current challenges, teachers may feel overwhelmed at the thought of engaging in antiracist work, or they may be discouraged by seemingly slow progress. This article presents present a narrative of building and maintaining an antiracist research coalition across departments at our university. By grounding our work in the important work of key black scholars, we describe our process of naming whiteness, inviting collaboration, grappling with definitions, and even identifying a few small victories along the way. Members of our group contribute their voices and perspectives from across the past two years of developing our …

New Possibilities For The Esl Classroom: Toward An Appreciation Of Creative Writing, Alyssa A. Jewell

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article addresses the gap between ESL and creative writing in college-level ESL writing courses. In ESL classrooms, creative writing activities may be implemented sporadically, but rarely, if ever, prove part of a standard, long-term curriculum. However, the benefits of utilizing creative writing in ESL classrooms are manifold. Highlighted here are various short-term studies and personal accounts that examine smaller creative writing assignments used in college ESL classroom settings. Gloria Anzaldúa has provided a philosophical rationale and springboard for engaging in this pedagogy and its potential wider applications, especially through her bi-lingual approach to creative scholarship. Felicia Rose Chavez’s anti-racist …

Doing The Work -- Collectively Pursuing Anti-Racist And Equitable Teaching: One High School English Department’S Journey, Sharon Murchie, Anthony Andrus, Pat Brennan, Gina Farnelli, Shelby Fletcher, Dawn Reed, Emily Solomon, Benjamin K. Woodcock

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Our district has long been heralded as a beacon school, one that delivers exceptional education in an exceptional community. Peeling back the layers, however, revealed a district that lurched towards the traditional, even with the hiring of DEI faculty and the step away from an historical indigenous mascot. In a time where teachers are exhausted and afraid of community backlash, our

English department dared to tear off the scabs of old wounds and united to push toward what is best for our changing community and students. Hard conversations, difficult topics, and months of legwork at last successfully provided the impetus …

Wakanda: Opening The High School Classroom To Afrofuturism, Carrie M. Mattern

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Afrofuturism has a solid place in high school classrooms thanks to the current work of Ryan Coogler, but also to those who have been in this work for decades including the Mother of Afrofuturism herself, Octavia Butler, adrienne maree brown, dream hampton, and a litany of Black poets and artists. This article leaps inside an Afrofuturistic unit curated for high school seniors with feedback and insight from their teachers and also the students who buckled up for a journey through time, space, and place.

Journeying Toward Liberation: Creating Civic Utopias Through Restorative Literacies, Rae L. Oviatt, Megan Mcelwee, Owen Farney

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this article, we forward three narratives from educators whose lived experiences moving from underrepresented youth to queer educators support the necessity of furthering representation for historically marginalized youth across classroom spaces. We begin with situating our argument in response to current policies that would seek to silence historically marginalized voices, histories, literacies, and thereby inhibit a more just social and civic future. Our narratives provide three varied perspectives of lived experiences as youth moving toward our current status as queer educators. Finally, we seek to call in other educators to engage advocacy and resources to support this work in …

Enacting Disciplinary Literacy Instruction: Essential Practices In Action, Darin B. Stockdill, Stacie B. Woodward

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this paper, we will explore elements of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy: Grades 6-12 , a statewide initiative in Michigan designed to support exactly this kind of teaching. In particular, we will discuss key instructional implications of the Essential Practices for both social studies and ELA instruction and highlight important commonalities and distinctions across these two content areas. We provide concrete examples of these practices in action as we share activities and reflections from a curricular project we undertook with US History and ELA teachers called Equitable Futures. In this initiative, teachers engaged their students in inquiry-driven …

Literacy As A Civil Right In The Past, Present And Future: Disciplinary Literacies As An Act Of Advocacy, Liberation, And Community-Building, Rosalyn Shahid Ph.D, Melissa A. Brooks-Yip

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

The Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy in the Secondary Classroom were presented to the educational community in 2016; in this article, we look back at history and ahead to classroom instruction to present the evolution of the purpose and practices of disciplinary literacies. By examining literacy as a civil right throughout history and the creation of the Essential Instructional Practices for Disciplinary Literacy, a path is revealed for educators to collaborate, differentiate professional learning, and implement classroom practices to engage students with content knowledge to foster real and relevant literacies for life.

Collaborative Inquiry To Support Critically Reading Children’S Literature, Laurie Rabinowitz, Amy Tondreau

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article provides an overview of a qualitative study investigating how K-5 classroom teachers describe their beliefs, concerns, and planning process for enacting read alouds featuring characters with disabilities. The study explored educators' close reading of picture books to elicit the unpacking of beliefs about individuals with disabilities conveyed by children’s literature. Through dialogue about social issues in picture books with colleagues, teachers sharpened their own critical literacy skills to bring into the classroom. Based on our findings, we offer a collaborative inquiry cycle that teacher groups can replicate to critically read children’s literature for different social justice issues.

Graphic Novels For Multimodal Learning: Equity For English Learners, Katherine Suender, Susan Piazza

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article provides a synthesis of current research and theory that makes a case for using graphic novels to improve adolescent literacy achievement through multimodal, equitable learning opportunities for English learners (ELs) while meeting the required English Learner Proficiency Standards (ELPS). Supported by multimodal theory and culturally responsive teaching (CRT) approaches, research shows that graphic novels are inspirational teaching tools for adolescent ELs to engage more deeply with reading and writing. Specific recommendations for classroom use of graphic novels include a focus on a) motivation and engagement, b) discussions, c) visual information, and d) multimodal composition. Educators can make use …

Culturally Responsive Language Arts Teaching: Refiguring Curriculum With Counternarratives, Claire A. Breiholz, Rebecca Smith

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This paper offers culturally responsive teaching methods for secondary English Language Arts educators to reform curriculum to honor and integrate counternarratives. We provide a sample Herstory unit plan framework for teachers to use as a model for revisioning curriculum to better meet the needs of all students. We offer examples of both traditional canonical and contemporary texts teachers can use to teach counternarratives.

The Poet X: Disrupting Shakespeare, Healthy Relationships, And Language Dynamics, Carrie M. Mattern

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Anti-racist teaching can be used in a practical manner to disrupt canonical texts. The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo, disrupts William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet through focusing in on racial literacy, healthy relationships, and honoring authentic language.

Muffintops, Fat Rolls, And Self Love: Using Fat Young Adult Texts To Promote Body Positivity, Laura M. Davis

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

With the findings of Wood-Barcalow, Tylka, and Augustus-Horwath (2009) as a framework, this essay offers an analysis of two texts portraying fat protagonists: The Summer of Jordi Perez and the Best Burger in L.A. by Amy Spalding and To Be Honest by Maggie Ann Martin. I examine the authors’ depictions of fat characters to determine if the characters align with Wood-Barcalow, Tylka, and Augustus-Horwath’s (2009) definition of body positivity. Using critical content analysis (Short, 2017), I consider how relationships, environment, and self-concept support and work against body positive attitudes. This essay also includes suggestions for how educators can use these …

Enhancing Cultural And Linguistic Responsiveness In Argument Writing Pedagogy Through Effective Adaptations For English Learners: Insights From C3wp Resource Analysis And Three Experienced Teachers’ Practices, Katelyn Walsh, Katey Robinson, Rachel Deacon, Zuzana Tomaš

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article examines recommended adaptations for English Learners (ELs) in the nationally-recognized C3WP argument writing program through the lens of effective EL literacy practices and culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy. We present an analysis of C3WP EL tips and EL notices and argue that when evaluated from the second language literacy and linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogy perspectives, the C3WP program could be enhanced by adding guidance for 1) specific instructional supports designed to increase ELs’ access to the resources and 2) helping teachers leverage these learners’ multicultural and multilinguistic capital. To help imagine how such effective additional guidance could …

Developing Critical Communities For Critical Conversations In K-12 Classrooms, Natalie Sue Svrcek, Henry Cody C. Miller

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

As marginalized identities are still largely denied representation in society and students from dominant groups lack sociocultural knowledge to live in a multicultural democracy, books are a powerful tool to address injustices. This article provides teacher candidates as well as practicing teachers with tools to address social justice topics in their classes by building critical communities to support critical conversations and subsequently using texts as tools for teaching in socially just ways. We offer a three part framework including 1) How teachers can begin to prepare to engage in critical conversations with students; 2) Laying out necessary steps for structuring …

Depictions Of Lgbtq Athletes In Young Adult Literature That Interrogate Sport Culture, Katherine Mason Cramer

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Although there is an increasing sense of inclusivity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) athletes in K-12, collegiate, and professional sports, there is still unstated pressure not to come out, which is evident in GLSEN’s 2017 National School Climate Survey. Consequently, the depiction of LGBTQ athletes and the positive message of sports-themed young adult literature (YAL) is even more important. This article explores the ways that YAL aligns with and contradicts narratives of sexual and gender diversity within sport culture and connects this exploration to English language arts instruction using Bill Konigsberg’s YA novel Honestly Ben.

Examining The Value Of Online Intercultural Exchange (Oie) In Cultivating Agency-Focused, (Inter)Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy: A Story Of One Collaborative International Project For English Learners, Zuzana Tomas, Margita Vojtkulakova, Nikola Lehotska, Marie Schottin

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article makes two contributions to culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy for English learners (ELs). First, we argue for the value of expanding cultural responsiveness to include an intercultural framing that not only cultivates ELs’ pride in their multicultural heritage, but also fosters their identities and capacities as global citizens. Second, we make a case for foregrounding student agency as a necessary prerequisite for what has been conceptualized as the ultimate goal of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: to be able to maintain one’s cultural practices, while simultaneously learning how to critique dominant power structures (Paris & Alim, 2017). We illustrate how …

Advancing Literacy: Using A Project Based Learning Academy To Increase Literacy Performance, Corrie A. Tuttle, Megan Adams

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

A teacher researcher and faculty member at a local university conducted a year-long study of the impacts of a new Project Based Learning (PBL) based 9^th grade academy. The academy was a new option for 9^th graders entering school in a marginalized, Title I school in a large, urban county. The case study was conducted using formal research methods, but the article is written with a focus on the needs of practitioners. The voices of students are highlighted, but there is also ample data illustrating the literacy gains measured in the students participating in the study. This approach …

Book Clubs In A Pandemic: Student Choice And Flexible Pedagogies As We Learned More About Ourselves And The World, Naitnaphit Limlamai

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Abstract: In this narrative, the author relays the experience of meeting virtually with two small book clubs, one sixth grade and one eighth grade, during the 2020-2021 school year. Meeting over Zoom, choosing books to read, and creating their own community, the members of the book club explore three major themes in their time together talking about books: connecting reading and writing, learning more about themselves, and building understandings about the world. Weaving the book club members’ voices with her own pedagogical decision-making, the author illustrates new ways to think about teaching as she centers student choice and flexible pedagogies.

From Critical Self Reflection To Cultivating Equitable Literacy Classrooms: Educators Creating Pd As They Move Forward With Hope, Elisabeth Spinner, Emily Sommer, Naitnaphit C. Limlamai, Anna J. Roseboro, Lynne Lesky, Kim Stein, Rick Kreinbring, Shelley Esman

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Though teaching has felt discouraging at times throughout the past year, this article looks at how a group of educators used a book club to not only maintain a hopeful outlook, but also learn more about antiracist teaching. Their work has benefited not only their personal journeys, but also their classrooms and school districts.

Grading For Growth: Introducing New Assessment Approaches In Traditional Grading Models, Beth A. Walsh-Moorman, Katie Ours, Aubrey Deaton, Maura Mcginty-O'Hara

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article explores three teachers’ experiences introducing a new assessment approach in an existing school-wide, grading framework. Teachers explore how they were able to manipulate the school framework in a way that allowed (and required) students to revise and rewrite until they had achieved mastery on key writing assignments.

Staying Power, Elizabeth M. Brockman

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Using a wide-angle lens spanning three decades, the author proposes that a 1991 OJELA article has “staying power” in the field. Its original purpose—to celebrate the highly recursive revision and personal voice of Emily, a high school junior—is still relevant today, nearly thirty years after the fact. In other words, Emily (who must be nearly 50!) can still vividly model revision strategies and habits of mind with the power to enlarge our own students’ writerly horizons, bolster their rhetorical confidence, and accelerate their literacy growth. However, English teachers today can do more than value the original purpose; they can broaden …

Exploring Privilege With Young Adult Literature, Stefani Boutelier

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

It is imperative to utilize Young Adult (YA) literature themes to transfer deeper ideologies. This article layers I am Alfonso Jones, a YA graphic novel, by Tony Medina to frame the exploration of privilege during a literature unit in a secondary ELA classroom. Teachers can facilitate understanding of such an often overused, yet misunderstood phrase, through multiple means (e.g., conversation protocols, performance assessment). The topics examined in this article supports a praxis model of moving critical pedagogy and equity literacy theories to the forefront of one’s teaching by including student voice, incorporating relationship building, and building important conversation skills to …

Yellow Pads And The Return Of The Writer, Gregory Shafer

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Using Inquiry In Teacher Professional Learning To Build Efficacy For Writing Instruction, Jacqueline B. Koonce, Melissa Brooks-Yip, Kathleen Gibson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Whitacre (2019) and Curtis (2017) found that participants’ efficacy impacted their writing instruction and ability to engage students. We share our experiences with a professional development program aimed to improve teacher efficacy and literacy of elementary teachers. In this professional learning network, the Study of Early Literacy (SOEL), a higher percentage of teachers reported to a Hanover Research survey that they felt less confident in teaching writing than other areas of literacy. To address this need, one of the authors developed a subgroup to specifically address the teaching of writing with an inquiry-based action research component. Most of the teachers …

A Dog, A Cat And Professional Development: How Two Bobbies Introduced Teachers To C3wp And Michigan’S Literacy Essentials, Delia King

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article demonstrates the important connections between the Language Arts Essentials K-3 with the NWP’s College, Career, and Community Writers Program.

Beyond Proving It: How C3wp Helps Students Write Nuanced Arguments And Purposeful Commentary, Kristin E. Smith

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

When students look at an issue from a variety of perspectives, they begin to think critically about sources and biases, and they are able to write more nuanced arguments. This article examines the changes in students' written arguments when a teacher implements the mini-units from the College, Career, and Community Ready Writers Program using articles that present diverse viewpoints on relevant issues. The students in this article were new to the College, Career, and Community Ready Writers Program, and they participated in three mini units from the program. The author describes how she implements these three mini units, and analyzes …