Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Engaging Reluctant Readers: Let's Try Nonfiction, Kathryn Fitzgerald

The Utah English Journal

"If it's not fiction, it's not reading." Starkly put, that was my concept of worthwhile literature until recently with, I think, good reason. Not only do we English teachers love reading good fiction, but we know that valuable lessons are taught through literature: students learn about themselves and their own life choices through reading about recognizable fictional characters; they experience cultures and times other than their own by reading diverse current and classical fiction; they learn to think critically about the beliefs and values they are exposed to through fiction (and to reflect on their own beliefs); they learn empathy …

My Students And English Literature, Ellen Mccaffrey

The Utah English Journal

It took me nearly thirty years to be assigned to teach English literature. Although my undergraduate and graduate training in English focused heavily on literature from Britain, my teaching assignments usually involved grammar and composition and literature from the United States. In my district, English literature is a twelfth grade elective course, and those who teach it usually teach it for as long as they can. My opportunity came when the usual English literature teacher became ill and had to retire. To my amazement no one else in the department wanted to teach the course. I willingly, happily, and enthusiastically …

Bringing The Story To Your School, Sherry Meidell

The Utah English Journal

During the first day of the fifth grade, my teacher smiled and gave us graham crackers. The next day she put on a grim face which remained for most of the year. I do remember one day that I saw her smile again. The teacher announced that we were going to have a special visitor from a publishing company. She handed each of us a piece of manila paper and told us to do a drawing from one of the publisher's books. I drew the South Going Zak, which was a character created by Dr. Suess.

Simple Ways To Include Jane Austen In High School, Elena Wilson

The Utah English Journal

While teaching composition courses on the Utah State University campus and completing my master's degree, I learned, through conversations with colleagues and students, that only a few of my associates were familiar with Jane Austen or the titles of her novels. Restless with my findings, I conducted a study through Utah State University on high school teachers' rationales and pedagogy for teaching Jane Austen's novels. I telephoned local English teachers, and I sent online inquiries to over 2000 English educators. Most of my results came from Utah teachers. These research results implied that the four most common rationales for including …

Book Review: Book Blurbs

The Utah English Journal

Resources for Teachers including:

- When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12 by Kylene Beers,

- Tools for Thought: Helping All Students Read, Write, Speak, and Think by Jim Burke,

- Investigating Texts: Analyzing Fiction and Nonfiction in High School by Bronwyn Mellor and Annette Patterson,

- The Drowning of Stephan Jones by Bette Green,

- Why America's Children Can't Think: Creating Independent Minds for the 21st Century by Peter Kline,

and

- Aloft by Chang-rae Lee.

Letters Of Metacognition: Four Key Questions To Ask Of Student Writing By Student Writers, Robert H. Rempe

The Utah English Journal

The Essentials of the Writing Assignment Whenever I have students do any writing assignment, be it essay, research report or literary analysis, I require in addition to the assignment itself a separate essay which I refer to as the Letter of Metacognition. In this Letter of Metacognition each student must answer the following four essential questions:

1. What works in the PROCESS of my paper?

2. What does not work in the PROCESS of my paper?

3. What works in the PRODUCT of my paper?

4. What does not work in the PRODUCT of my paper?

Slam! Poetry As A Genre For Social Activism, Stacy Miller

The Utah English Journal

The roots of SLAM poetry are historically situated in traditional poetry, the poetry of the Beats, and in Hip-Hop music. SLAM taps into the rhyme scheme and versification of traditional poetry but also creates its own hybrid of convention and form that is based in modem poetry. SLAM reaches back into the poetry of the Beats and revives an unconventional use of rhyme scheme, syntax, and grammar. Hip-Hop, which arrived at the tail end of Disco in the late 70's, broke the musical and rhythmic beats in Disco music and birthed the notion of Hip-Hop as a subgenre of music. …