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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Volume 73, Issue 1: Unlocking Opportunities For All - Community, Collaboration, And Creativity, Cinde Wollenberg Sep 2024

Volume 73, Issue 1: Unlocking Opportunities For All - Community, Collaboration, And Creativity, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


Your Own Where I'M From Poem: Community Building Writing Lesson, Cinde Wollenberg Sep 2024

Your Own Where I'M From Poem: Community Building Writing Lesson, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

Teacher created lesson plan, printable worksheet and rubric for using George Ella Lyon's "Where I'm From" poem to build community in the classroom.


Book Review: Critical Thinking In The Elementary Classroom: Engaging Young Minds With Meaningful Content., Jodi Bailey Sep 2024

Book Review: Critical Thinking In The Elementary Classroom: Engaging Young Minds With Meaningful Content., Jodi Bailey

Virginia English Journal

This is a book review of Critical Thinking In The Elementary Classrooms: Engaging Young Minds With Meaningful Content, a practical framework geared towards teachers and school leaders focused on implementing critical thinking in all content areas with the youngest learners.


Teaching Challenged Books Through A Lens Of Censorship, Liz Shanks Sep 2024

Teaching Challenged Books Through A Lens Of Censorship, Liz Shanks

Virginia English Journal

In recent years, book challenging and banning has taken hold of America. In the process, many books with diverse authors, perspectives, and valuable themes are getting silenced and removed from the classroom. Students everywhere have a right to see themselves within literature, as well as reflections of experiences they may be unaware of. This article researches the statistics surrounding book challenging, and offers an educational path towards inclusive teaching through a Lens of Censorship.


The “Pick Me Girl”: Understanding Relational Aggression Through Young Adult Literature, Kaleigh D. Phelps Sep 2024

The “Pick Me Girl”: Understanding Relational Aggression Through Young Adult Literature, Kaleigh D. Phelps

Virginia English Journal

This text set list focuses on coming of age through a feminist lens. All books introduce a new perspective or enhance a complex view of womanhood in literature and how we view female friendships and relational aggression. Using the concept of windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors, the text set list highlights the need for feminist literature from a young age.


Adolescent Autonomy In Book Selection, Katie Dredger, Zoe Mcdowell Sep 2024

Adolescent Autonomy In Book Selection, Katie Dredger, Zoe Mcdowell

Virginia English Journal

Books that have been on the shelves of classrooms in the commonwealth of Virginia are being removed by overzealous and misinformed parents and school board members. Supporting literacy development means allowing adolescents to read thought-provoking and edgy, high-quality texts, vetted by educated professionals, so that students can be critical curators and consumers of the wide range of media available today. Reading begets better reading, and varied texts build empathy for others. Improved literacy and empathetic criticality will benefit our commonwealth.


Introduction From The Editor's Desk: Fall 2024, Cinde Wollenberg Sep 2024

Introduction From The Editor's Desk: Fall 2024, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


Volume 72, Issue 2: Windows, Mirrors And Sliding Glass Doors - Bridging The Divide Call For Submissions Mar 2024

Volume 72, Issue 2: Windows, Mirrors And Sliding Glass Doors - Bridging The Divide Call For Submissions

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


I Can... Will You?, Cheryl Golden Mar 2024

I Can... Will You?, Cheryl Golden

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


Take A Risk: A Review Of Expanding Literacy, Hollie M. Bergeron, Jenny M. Martin Mar 2024

Take A Risk: A Review Of Expanding Literacy, Hollie M. Bergeron, Jenny M. Martin

Virginia English Journal

This is a book review of Expanding Literacy: Bringing Digital Storytelling into Your Classroom by Brett Pierce in 2022. Review collaboratively by two teacher educators and a content area literacy course, this thorough review of Pierce's book for educators includes many perspectives.


The Learning Center: Changing Your Writing Center To A Learning Center, Kyle D. Trott Ph.D. Mar 2024

The Learning Center: Changing Your Writing Center To A Learning Center, Kyle D. Trott Ph.D.

Virginia English Journal

The purpose of this article is to reimagine the Writing Center not as an island removed from the disciplines or resource extending from the English Department, but as the heart of the secondary school. One way to do this is to recognize the need for secondary school writing centers to engage the academic community comprised of the five core disciplines—English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language—through advocacy and shared responsibility by means of creating and engaging through agency by utilizing the honor societies in the various disciplines through the local example of the Woodbridge Senior High School’s development of the …


Lessons From The Bluest Eye: The Discovery Of Self, Shanda D. Boone-Hurdle Mar 2024

Lessons From The Bluest Eye: The Discovery Of Self, Shanda D. Boone-Hurdle

Virginia English Journal

This article will explore the profound impact of reading, utilizing Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye as a catalyst for students to create real-life connections that resonate with their own experiences. The love of reading is a transformative force that not only enriches the intellectual landscape but also serves as a powerful tool for fostering empathy and understanding. This article will demonstrate how reading empowers students and helps them find solace and strength in the realization that their struggles, dreams, and aspirations are not isolated but are woven into the fabric of a broader narrative in which students can reflect …


Engaging Students In Writing With Nonfiction Social Justice Texts, Tracy Spurlin-Saravanan Mar 2024

Engaging Students In Writing With Nonfiction Social Justice Texts, Tracy Spurlin-Saravanan

Virginia English Journal

Getting students engaged in writing in a high school setting is usually challenging and often elicits complaints of boredom. However, the utilization of texts that focus on the experiences of marginalized people and that educates about social injustices can get students interested. When students read texts that inform them about such issues that they might otherwise never hear about and when they are invited to share their views through writing, the door to learning to become critical thinkers and global citizens is opened for them.


Write Like The Character: A New Take On Using Mentor Text To Support Writing, Tracy L. Hough Mar 2024

Write Like The Character: A New Take On Using Mentor Text To Support Writing, Tracy L. Hough

Virginia English Journal

Writing is a complex process that requires the orchestration of cognitive, social, and emotional processes. This analysis explores ways to help our students navigate the complexities of becoming a writer by expanding the use of mentor texts to include an examination of characters who write, modeling the real challenges and rewards associated with becoming a writer. The themes identified within the selected mentor texts focus on finding encouragement and inspiration to write from others, making sense of the world through personal writing, and discovering one's voice and identity as a writer. By extending our use of mentor texts, we help …


Shifting Scaffolds: Building Intellective Capacity Through Student Choice, Amanda Blevins Mar 2024

Shifting Scaffolds: Building Intellective Capacity Through Student Choice, Amanda Blevins

Virginia English Journal

In an effort to meet the wide-ranging capacities and even wider-ranging levels of student motivation in ELA classrooms, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers are tasked with examining current instructional practices through the lenses of efficacy and engagement. Disengagement, worsened by an over-reliance on prescriptive structures like the five-paragraph essay, hampers students' growth and independence. This essay explores how scaffolding, particularly through student choice, can nurture students' intellective capacity and foster genuine engagement with literacy. By embracing student interests and providing opportunities for authentic analysis, educators can empower students to navigate complex texts and develop nuanced thinking skills essential for …


Introduction From The Editor's Desk: Spring 2024, Cinde Wollenberg Mar 2024

Introduction From The Editor's Desk: Spring 2024, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


Call For Manuscripts Mar 2022

Call For Manuscripts

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


A Sequence Of Poems On Writing, Teaching, Words And Thought, Louis Gallo Mar 2022

A Sequence Of Poems On Writing, Teaching, Words And Thought, Louis Gallo

Virginia English Journal

no abstract,it's poetry


Breaking Down Barriers: Practicing Silent Discussions In The Classroom, Kristina E. Bell Mar 2022

Breaking Down Barriers: Practicing Silent Discussions In The Classroom, Kristina E. Bell

Virginia English Journal

While full-class oral discussions may be beneficial for some students, there may also be others in classrooms who may feel uncomfortable with participating in discussions such as these for a myriad of reasons. These reasons often extend beyond the negative assumption of students not caring about classroom content. In my own classroom, one discussion practice that I have had the opportunity to utilize with success is that of a “silent discussion,” a discussion that is both independent and silent, while allowing for written interaction amongst peers. Breaking down barriers for students and allowing for greater opportunities for active engagement through …


Eating The Earth: The Poetic ‘Coming Out’ Journey Of One Middle School Teacher, Clint D. Whitten Mar 2022

Eating The Earth: The Poetic ‘Coming Out’ Journey Of One Middle School Teacher, Clint D. Whitten

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


The Dissipating Energy: When Teaching Priorities Are Repositioned, Lauren May Mar 2022

The Dissipating Energy: When Teaching Priorities Are Repositioned, Lauren May

Virginia English Journal

The issue of teacher attrition has strengthened over the course of the decade, especially with the influence of a global pandemic (Zamarro et al., 2021). Ingersoll et al. (2018) found that 44% of teachers leave the field of education within the first five years of their careers. More recently, Zamarro et al. (2021) described a 6% increase in teachers expressing the desire to leave their teaching careers within the next five years. A wide range of demands have contributed to teacher attrition across the years, and it can be problematic when teaching philosophies are pushed aside as teachers attempt to …


Review Of Teaching In Rural Places: Thriving In Rural Classrooms, Schools, And Communities, Rachelle Kuehl Mar 2022

Review Of Teaching In Rural Places: Thriving In Rural Classrooms, Schools, And Communities, Rachelle Kuehl

Virginia English Journal

This is a book review of Teaching in Rural Places: Thriving in Classrooms, Schools, and Communities, a first-of-its-kind textbook geared for preservice teachers interested in teaching successfully in rural schools.


Who’S ‘Ere?: Identifying And Addressing Rural Erasure In Ela Classrooms, Chea L. Parton Mar 2022

Who’S ‘Ere?: Identifying And Addressing Rural Erasure In Ela Classrooms, Chea L. Parton

Virginia English Journal

This article briefly discusses research on the role of rural out-migrant ELA teachers' place-connected identities on rural erasure through text selection and instructional practice. Based on the research findings, it provides resources such as an equity audit for course syllabi and classroom libraries as well as tools for finding and selecting rural young adult literature to combat rural erasure and support teachers' inclusion of critical rural perspectives in their teaching.


Editorial Mar 2022

Editorial

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


Call For Manuscripts Aug 2021

Call For Manuscripts

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


One Bold Experiment, William D. Smyth Aug 2021

One Bold Experiment, William D. Smyth

Virginia English Journal

A monthly exchange of letters from 165 seventh graders in an arts school in Charleston, South Carolina to similar classrooms in 16 countries around the world proved to be the writing project that captured every state writing standard all at once -- brainstorming, writing, collaboration, analysis, proofreading, and re-writing. This one activity was the highlight of the year for each student as letters and gifts poured in from every continent September to June. This was truly a teacher's dream come true.


I, Too: A Culturally Responsive Expression Of Teacher And Student Writing, Tiffany Lewis, Kevon Merritte, Haley Novak Aug 2021

I, Too: A Culturally Responsive Expression Of Teacher And Student Writing, Tiffany Lewis, Kevon Merritte, Haley Novak

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.


Re-Imagining Remediation: Problematizing Adolescent Literacy Remediation, Michelle Lague Aug 2021

Re-Imagining Remediation: Problematizing Adolescent Literacy Remediation, Michelle Lague

Virginia English Journal

This article explores the unique literacy needs of adolescent learners and challenges the traditional practice of literacy remediation, often tied to standardized test scores, in U.S. public schools. A call for more responsive literacy instruction that employs a disciplinary, holistic approach rather than a skills-based, deficit-informed approach is articulated, as well as recommendations for practice in literacy instruction informed by research on literacy identity development. As we begin to imagine our schools in a post-COVID world, we must rethink our instruction and move toward a model of literacy that is more relevant, more responsive, and, above all, more human.


An Introduction To The Culturally Responsive Education Model (Crem): A Personal And Professional Journey To Reflective And Transformative Pedagogy, Monica R. Manns Aug 2021

An Introduction To The Culturally Responsive Education Model (Crem): A Personal And Professional Journey To Reflective And Transformative Pedagogy, Monica R. Manns

Virginia English Journal

The Culturally Responsive Education Model (CREM) is a framework by which educators can recognize, digest, and implement cultural responsiveness in their classrooms and school communities. Based on the research of James Banks, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Zaretta Hammond, Marva Collins, Bell Hooks, Geneva Gay, James Comer, and Paulo Freire, the CREM serves as a tool, a practitioner’s guide to culturally responsive teaching and learning, with specific focus on content integration (the curricular and programmatic expansion to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of diverse groups); knowledge construction (helping students understand how people create beliefs based on their diverse biographies while validating students’ funds …


Introduction From The Editor Aug 2021

Introduction From The Editor

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.