Secondary Education Commons^™

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 …

Factors For Success: Supporting Black Doctoral Students, Shondra L. Marshall, Clyde Barnett Iii, Quentrese Hinton, Courtney Brieann Morris

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Myriad factors impact Black doctoral student lived experiences. Black doctoral students face unique challenges in educational institutions that are not shared by their White cohorts. This literature review surveys current scholarship about these challenges and the educational experiences that emerge from them. Using an intersectional framework, the authors review the extant literature from the perspective of four primary themes: socialization, mentoring, financial wellness, and belonging. The authors contend that improving practices related to each of these areas can result in improved experiences and outcomes for Black doctoral students as they matriculate through graduate programs.

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.

Teaching With The Genius In Mind: Enacting Literacy As A Civil Right, Katie Glupker, Pam Gower, Angela Knight

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Because literacy is a civil right, educators are responsible for designing and implementing literacy education that is designed with the excellence of all students in mind. In order to learn about ways to ensure that literary practices are equitable for all students, the authors joined an educators’ book club to read Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy by Gholdy Muhammad. Muhammad describes the Black literary societies of the past and challenges educators of today to enhance classrooms by upholding equity and excellence through a five-layered framework: Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy.

We studied Muhammad’s …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Course Redesign To New Paradigms: Exploring Humanizing Racial Literacies With Pre-Service Teachers, Becky Beucher, Tisha Ortega, Grant Souder, Kimberly Martin-Boyd, Katy Killian

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Spring 2021, undergraduate students across the country were entering their second year of obligatory online learning. This moment in time correlated with an increased attention to the Black Lives Matter movement by white youth and the mainstream public. This study, guided by a team of teacher educators committed to realizing racial justice in Secondary literacy education, designed and examined the impact of humanizing racial literacies curriculum taught through forced on learning on undergraduate pre-service teacher’s perspectives about anti-racist curriculum design. This study builds upon a growing body of research on realizing humanizing racial literacies in teacher education pedagogy. The curriculum …

“It Depends Where I Am In My Life, Whether I Love Reading Or Not”: Challenges To Fostering Strong Personal Reading Lives And Why It Matters, Matthew Sroka

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article stems from a larger participatory action research study involving a 4-month investigation into the reading lives of myself and four other secondary English teachers. This study illustrates that even for teachers who value reading, there exists a recurring struggle to maintain strong personal reading lives; however, this study also provides examples of transformational teachers and texts that assisted teachers in overcoming these challenges. These transformational experiences led to teachers reading more, which led to changes in their views of reading and their pedagogical decision-making around reading. Specifically, having positive experiences with books inside and outside the classroom opened …

Where's My Happy Ending? Fostering Empathy Through Conversations About Anxiety And Depression In Young Adult Literature, Kathleen Deakin, Gloria Eastman

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

The authors advocate for the use of text sets to initiate conversations about anxiety and depression in the Secondary classroom.

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.

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 …

Learning The Language Of Academic Writing: Using The C3wp As A Scaffold In The Secondary English Classroom, John Lennon

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Using academic language and employing textual evidence as support is a critical component of academic writing. However, many secondary students struggle to join academic conversations because of the skills associated with this type of writing. Through the implementation of the National Writing Project's College, Career, and Community Writing Program (C3WP) (2018) and focusing on the moves of academic writers presented by Harris (2006) and Graff and Birkenstein (2017), students can find ways to use evidence in a more constructive way in their research and argumentative writing. This essay will analyze student writing samples at various levels of skill development and …

Writing On Demand In College, Career, And Community Writing: Preparing Students To Participate In The Pop-Up Parlor, Kelly J. Sassi, Hannah Stevens

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

The Writing on Demand Unit is an important part of the College, Career, and Community Writers Program. In this article, we review the literature on C3WP; contextualize the writing on demand unit in relation to the other instructional resources in C3WP; explore five big ideas about writing on demand; and describe an approach to teaching this unit that includes some preliminary results of teaching this unit in a rural, Native American high school. The five big ideas that inform its use are the following: 1) emotions matter, 2) everyone does it, so provide reasons for writing on demand, 3) time …

Knotworking The College, Career, And Community Writers Program, Rachel Bear, Tom Fox

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

"Knotworking the College, Career, and Community Writers Program" examines its history and success through four "knots." Using Engeström's concept of "knotworking," the article explores the relationship of the program to national standards, mandated curricula, hyperpartisan public discourse, and student achievement.

Coming To Terms With College Writing, Tyler Judd

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

The task of defining college writing is one that will more than likely never find a definitive end. As writing teachers it is important to understand what the future for our students holds, but for those college-bound students it can often be hard to predict. With new resources such as Joseph Harris’ Rewriting: How to do Things With Texts, and National Writing Project’s College, Career, and Community Writers Program teachers can be sure they are guiding that population of students toward a successful academic future. This piece explores some of the specific resources and tools that I have found most …

Speakup: The Power Of Writing And Turning Toward Trouble With Young People, James E. Fredricksen, Amanda Micheletty, Nicholas Darlinton

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

When a group of rural teens meet regularly out-of-school to write for social change in their communities, they inquire into those recent moments when they did or did not choose to speak up. This article describes some of the conceptual tools and practical classroom implications for three teachers who participate with SpeakUP. In particular, this piece argues that when young people turn toward trouble together, specifically when they do or do not decide to speak up, they can identify their assumptions and expectations, notice how power is working in both visible and invisible ways, and consider multiple possibilities for future …

“All The Kids We Are Most Concerned About”: Putting The At-Risk At Greater Risk By Teaching To The Common Core, Brian White, Lindsy Matteoni

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

A major, stated goal of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for the English Language Arts (ELA) is to provide equal, quality education in literacy for all students in order to reduce opportunity gaps and to prepare high school graduates of all backgrounds and all levels of ability for the demands of college and career. The authors of the CCSS claim that the ELA Standards raise the literacy bar for all students without either constituting a literacy curriculum or dictating literacy pedagogy. However, in both their publications and their public presentations, the CCSS authors have consistently denigrated certain teaching strategies …

Teaching Peer Feedback As Ethical Practice, Derek Miller, Troy Hicks, Susan Golab

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Even with weeks of building a classroom community and deliberate instructional scaffolding, students may not engage in thoughtful peer review. One teacher discovers how he must place a deep, intentional value on the feedback itself—and the writers who provided it to one another.

What Will You March For?, Erinn Bentley, Madison Workman

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Every single day people in this country are advocating – from protesting racism, to fighting for or against legislation, to holding large scale marches in Washington, D.C., to posting a simple Tweet. In this article, two educators will describe how they transformed a "traditional" research paper into a project focused on real-world advocacy. In this project, students analyzed effective persuasive writing in a variety of mediums, conducted research on a topic of personal interest, and composed both a traditional research paper and a protest medium focused on their chosen topic.

Advocating For The Affective: Writing Hope Into School Spaces, Nicole Sieben

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Several scholars in the field of English education advocate for student voice and emotion to take precedence in our English language arts (ELA) classrooms. Because emotions are inextricably tied to learning processes (Smagorinsky, 2017), we know that we cannot effectively teach English language arts unless we consider the affective components of our students’ educational experiences. When students are given opportunities to access the deepest parts of themselves, they can then begin to unpack their full potentials as critical readers, writers, and thinkers in the world. This piece provides several frameworks and strategies for teaching with affective advocacy in mind in …

Student-Centered Approaches To Teaching Grammar And Writing, Lindsay J. Jeffers

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article questions the continued reliance on traditional approaches to the teaching of grammar, particularly the memorization of parts of speech and grammar rules. Years of studies show that grammar instruction out of the context of writing is detrimental to students. Despite much progress toward student-centered instruction, traditional methods of teaching grammar are still a cornerstone of writing instruction in many English classes. The article suggests more effective, student-centered approaches that focus on students developing as writers and readers. Through modeling and inquiry, students focus on writing as a craft and make choices as writers. It’s essential that research about …