English Journal - Volume 93, Issue 3, 2004

Students may be surprised to discover the extent to which print and visual texts shape our concepts of gender. Focusing specifically on how literature and media construct femininity, Wallowitz and colleagues created a unit that “enabled readers to recognize the mixed messages in the media about body image and culturally constructed notions of gender.”

High school teacher Jerome Evans makes popular culture an integral part of his courses. Through analyzing themes in song lyrics, rhetorical devices in essays and advertisements, and psychology in contemporary film, students improve their skills in critical thinking and writing.

Popular culture is about more than just the current time and place, notes high school teacher Michael Vetrie. Connecting classical Greek and Elizabethan theater to contemporary film, he shows how at-risk students can increase their literacy skills through reading film as text.

Former high school teacher Kevin Maness offers a framework for media education that helps students enhance their understanding of the media and use their knowledge to influence individual and community action.

Based on extensive work with high school teachers and students, two university professors argue that incorporating forms of popular culture into the classroom provides a meeting place where students and teachers can share their expertise. They support the argument with examples of activities and projects in two different settings.

A former middle school and high school teacher argues that using hip-hop music and spoken word poetry can help urban students engage in the study of literary terms. She describes how she used these forms of popular culture in a poetry unit and offers resources for teachers interested in adapting and extending her lessons.

Through the creation of a digital story, urban high school students gain confidence and a new understanding of literacy. Sara B. Kajder offers a step–by–step plan for replicating this project, grounded in sound theory and research about how adolescents expand their literacies.