English Journal - Volume 102, Issue 6, 2013

Ken Lindblom has taught English and writing at Columbia High School (East Greenbush, New York), Syracuse University, and Illinois State University, and he is now associate professor of English and director of English teacher education at Stony Brook University (SUNY). He has been editor of English Journal since 2008, and this is the last of the 30 issues he’s edited.

Members of the Secondary Section Steering Committee comment on topics of importance to English language arts educators.

“Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.

“Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.

The outgoing editor reflects on the past five years of English Journal.

“Teacher to Teacher” provides a forum for teachers to share ideas, materials, and activities.

How can teachers awaken creativity in students, and what do classrooms that do so look like?

English classes should offer students bold opportunities to revise hate and discrimination.

A secondary teacher’s food unit engages students in nonfiction reading about economic, environmental, and political aspects of food.

A high school teacher describes an assignment that draws on Hall’s cultural iceberg to help students develop global perspectives and better close-reading and analytical skills.

With the help of a published poet, a high school teacher opens his students to the world of haiku, which doesn’t always fit the 5-7-5 syllable-pattern many expect.

Following a passionate plea for teachers to incorporate technology in more meaningful ways, the authors offer specific suggestions for teaching in-depth digital literacy skills.

Eighth-graders strengthen their listening, writing, and creative skills by exploring mid-20th-century detective and mystery radio shows and then producing their own podcasts.

Video games offer new, complex forms of interactive narrative. Ostenson shows how students in his English class have begun to study this evolving genre.

Using her work with police officers, Brockman shows how English teachers can work one-on-one with professionals who seek help with their writing.

“Adventures with Text and Beyond” explores various ways of teaching literary theory to high school and middle school students.

“Mentoring Matters” focuses on effective ways to support new English teachers and student teachers.

“Off the Shelves” discusses new young adult literature and explores ways of teaching YA texts in middle and high school English classes.

“Professional Writing in the English Classroom” publishes articles about teaching students to write effectively in the genres, conventions, and visual designs required for professional contexts and related rhetorical situations.

“Research for the Classroom” publishes mini-studies of ELA classroom practices and suggests ways in which high school and middle school English teachers may study the effectiveness of their pedagogy.