English Journal - Volume 91, Issue 4, 2002

Like most English teachers, Susan Jolley has “spent [her] career teaching fiction and poetry. However, realizing that most people read more nonfiction than fiction in their academic careers and personal lives,” she has “made the effort in recent years to incorporate nonfiction works into every curriculum” she teaches. Jolley feels that “nonfiction connections [like slave narratives] can bring an immediacy and relevance to the study of any novel.”

Larry Johannessen prefer using nonfiction (e.g. “personal narratives, memoirs, or oral histories”) in order to introduce his high school students to rich literary depictions of the Vietnam War. These works usually elicit a response from the students far beyond any teachers’ expectations. Find out why this genre of literature is so appealing to teenage readers by reading more about Johannessen’s curriculum choices.

A pre-service teacher helps her students in the Upward Bound college-prep program become active readers by selecting a nonfiction text like Geoffrey Canada’s “Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America” that was both “accessible and connective.”

Since most historians agree that the Great Depression was a watershed event in twentieth century America, Denise Ousley believes “an in-depth exploration of the unsteady political and economic climate, cultural traditions, and diverse experiences of this defining era would do our students a great service.” Therefore, in this article, she makes “the case for presenting—for celebrating—the nonfiction of the Depression in the English classroom.” More specifically, Ousley thinks that “one of the most productive ways to explore Depression-era history is to read the works of the people who were in the midst of surviving it—through the letters they wrote to the White House.

Instead of having his students read fiction in order to write argumentative and analytical essays, Don Pedersen wanted them to become critical readers “so that independently they, as writers, could begin to anticipate the specifics and development needed to convince the reader of an author’s credibility and a writing’s worth.”

Literary fiction offers teachers interesting “What if ?” situations to mull over with students. Through the vicarious explorations of fiction students learn to choose or avoid life situations, as Louise Rosenblatt taught us over seventy years ago. However, nonfiction literary prose offers advantages that literary fiction does not. One of these is the directness and sense of honesty that comes with a single voice telling things as they are seen by that person. Other advantages rest in the potential classroom linkages between reading this form of literature and writing the personal essay. Read more about these advantages that Holmes discovers.

According to Katherine Morgan, “the words ‘primary source’ conjure up stale ideas of moldy texts on brittle paper preserved in archival sleeves in historical collections. History or social studies teachers might react positively to the idea of the primary source document as a vehicle for learning, but English teachers might be less enthusiastic.” Read this article to find out how “primary sources and nonfiction [can] offer valuable opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and critical thinking in all fields of study.”

In this historical account of the South during Reconstruction, Sara Jonsberg looks at the relationship between white female teachers from New England and their newly freed slave pupils. Her study is contextualized by today’s critical race studies such as the work of Beverly Daniel Tatums.

Describes two student teachers’ experiences with their students on September 11th, 2001. Comments that the crazier things get “out there,” the more teachers and public education may be among the only things that can make a difference.

Asks herself how she can teach at this difficult time. Comments that she teaches carefully, desperately, deliberately, and honestly and in the same ways that thousands of teachers before her have taught in times of crisis, grief, and fear of what the future holds. Concludes that this may be the most important time in her life to be a teacher.

Argues for the use of nonfiction in classrooms. Presents three passages from sources usually far removed from the typical secondary language arts classroom to help make the point. Concludes that just as the study of fiction, drama, and poetry help students explore their thoughts and feelings, nonfiction can offer a reality check with which to measure their individual responses.

Presents a question and answer format addressing what to do with a student who in the beginning of the fourth quarter has no chance of passing. Discusses some effective strategies for classroom management that have worked for experienced teachers.

Introduces two books about magic, one a collection of essays “Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader,” which describes the author’s inherited lifelong passion for books and reading; and the other a novel, “Mangos, Bananas and Coconuts: A Cuban Love Story,” which tells a story of love and magic that seems both real and surreal.

Notes that English teachers have to do their part in teaching literary-cultural literacy, but they also have a responsibility to expose students to the wide range of literature that exists outside of the de facto Young Adult Literature perpetuated by school curricula. Presents annotations of 10 new or overlooked Young Adult books worth reading.