Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools

A comprehensive, realistic view of teaching English language arts in grades six through 12, this text integrates thoughtful, practical approaches to both curriculum and instruction while addressing the questions and concerns of new teachers.

The text reaffirms the value of teaching the English language arts through an integrated model, stresses the constructivist approach and emphasises reflective practice, as it asks readers to interact with the ideas, and to question and challenge those ideas. Through many sample lessons plus classroom ideas with reflective questions, students get the opportunity to explore and discuss what they are learning and to see how theory and research relate to practice. This edition stresses problem solving and application and includes new Internet sources that provide additional relevance to the topics presented. New chapters on content literacy and media literacy are included, and other chapters are reorganised to ensure a logical flow of the material.

List of contents

Table of Contents

 

Chapter 1: Becoming an English Teacher

Drawn to Teaching

            What Makes an Effective English Teacher?

Understanding Adolescents

            Adolescent Traits

            Development Stages of Adolescents

            Students at Risk

            Varying Sources of Student Alienation

Motivating students to learn

            What Teachers Can Do

            Helping Students to Learn

            Setting up the Classroom To Motivate Students

            What do I do When I Don’t Have My Own Classroom

            Building Classroom Communities

 

Chapter 2: The Theoretical and Pedagogical Foundations of Teaching English

A Philosophy Shaping What We Do and When We Do It

Developing Classroom Curriculum

            From Goals to Outcomes

            Textbooks, Trade Books, and Software

Developing Classroom Teaching Plans

            Variables Within Our Grasp

Planning Well: Principles and Practice

            Instructional Unit:  “In Constant Search of Perfection: Benjamin Franklin”

            Questions For the Benjamin Franklin Unit: Analysis and Decision-Making

 

Chapter 3: Language: Teaching About Spelling, Grammar, Mechanics, and Vocabulary

The Importance of Language Study

Language Characteristics

Acquiring Our Native Language

Acquiring English as a Second Language

Non-Native Speakers of English

Understanding ELL students’ errors

Recognizing and Working with “Smart Errors”

Errors and Grades

General Suggestions and Guidelines for Teaching English Language Learners in   the English Language Arts Classroom

Classroom Language and English Language Learners

Grouping Students

Using Peer Partners

Ensuring Effective Learning

Providing experience with Written Language

Language Variation: American Dialects

            Understanding Linguistic Diversity in Our Schools

            Dialect, Identity, and Linguistic Competence

            African American English

            Native American Language

            Hispanic English

Achievement Among Minority Students

Language, Culture, and Identity: Julie of the Wolves

What does a contemporary look like when students are learning about Literature?<

 

Chapter Four: Oral Language: The Neglected Language Arts

Basic Principles

            Teacher Talk, Student Talk

            Talk and Cultural Differences

            Talk and Gender Equity

            Listening: Not the Same as Hearing

            Speaking: More than Just Talk

Improving Discussion Questions

            Personal Response, Small Group, Large Group

            Student Responsibility in Classroom Discussion

            Talking About Literature

            Building Class Cohesion through Stories

            Instructional Unit

            Instructional Unit

            Speaking formally: Teaching “The” Speech

            Informal Classroom Drama

            Evaluating Oral Language Activities

The Contemporary English language classroom: Oral Language

 

Chapter 5: Teaching Writing

Background of Teaching Composition

Research on Writing

Writing Process

Stages in the Writing Process

            Discovery Stage

            Drafting Stage

            Revising Stage

            Editing Stage

            Publishing Student Writing

Classroom Climate

The Teacher’s Role

Improving Writing Skills

            Understanding and Improving Sentence Structure

Specific Areas to Address in Mini-Lessons

            Understanding and Improving Punctuations

            Commas

            Quotation Marks

            Apostrophes

            Daily Oral Language

Improving Spelling and Vocabulary

            Vocabulary

Writing For a Variety of Purposes

Types of Writing Assignments

Journal Writing

            Personal Response Journals

Writing Short Stories

            Round Robin Stories

            Developing Characters

            Story Strips

            Personal Narratives and Writing Stories

Writing Poetry

            Five Liners

            Diamond shape Poem

            Concrete poem

            Preposition poem

            Mood Poems

            Found Poems

            Bio poem

            Terse verse

Exploring an Instructional Unit

            Family Pressures

Writing in our Everyday Lives

Teaching Persuasion

Teaching Classifying

Lifelong Skills

The Contemporary English Classroom: Writing

 

Chapter 6: Writing and Evaluating Research Papers

Research Writing in the Context of Composition

A Method of Teaching Students How to Write Longer Papers

            Preliminary Work

            Selecting Topics

            Prior Knowledge

            Developing Questions

The I-Search Paper

            Locating Sources

            Evaluating Quality on the Net

            The Internet as a Reference Source

            Taking Notes on References

            Guidelines for the Research Process

            Developing Plans for Including Longer Papers

Instructional Unit

Research Skills/Debate

            A Research Assignment for a Paper on Careers

A Process to Teaching the Importance of Sources

Creating a Research Assignment

Additional Resources for Teaching Research

The Contemporary English Classroom: Writing and Evaluating Research Papers

 

Chapter 7: Selecting Literature

Objectives For Teaching Literature

Canonical Literature

            Balancing Literature Selections

            Making Choices

Organizing Literature Study

Instructional Unit

            Mexican Culture

Organizing Around A Theme

Reading Levels

Young Adult Literature

World Literature

            Thematic Approach

            Studying One Culture

Literature By Women

Multicultural Literature

            Native American Literature

            Hispanic Literature

            African American Literature

            Asian American Literature

            Readers and Literature

Recommended Books By or About People Of Color

            Selections for a Unit on Family Relationships

            Selections for Coming of Age or Developing a Sense of Self

            Selections for a Theme of Courage

            Selections for a Unit Focusing on Women and Women Writers

Censorship

Stereotypes: The Root of Aggressive Behavior

The Contemporary English Classroom: Selecting Literature

 

Chapter 8: Teaching Literature

Reading Literature

Background of Literature Study

            Focus of Literary Study

Reader Response Theory

Implementing the Response Theory

            Using Factual Information

            Writing Responses

            Using Responses

Other Ways in Which to Respond to Literature

Literature circles

Comprehension

Formal Analyses

Prereading Activities

Reading Activities

Teaching Shakespeare

            Romeo and Juliet

            Small Group Work

            Writing Assignments Given to Students

Teaching Short Stories

            Short Stories Activities

Teaching Poetry

            Activities for Teaching Poetry

            Poetry Resources

Teaching Language in Literature Study

Vocabulary Study in Reading

            Purposes

            Words in Context

            Testing Vocabulary

Sharing Books

            Book Talks

            Interest Grouping

            Student Critiques

            Reading in Class

The Contemporary English Classroom: Teaching Literature

 

Chapter 9: Media Literacy: Technology, Media, and the Language Arts

What is Media Literacy?

Forms of Media for Literacy Learning

            Advertising

            Magazines and Print Media

            Movies

            Music

            Television

            Videos and DVDs

            Video Games

Creating Media Literacy

            What’s a “Wiki” and How Can It Be Used in a Classroom?

            What is a “Ning” and How Can I Use it in the Classroom?

            What is a “Blog” and How Can I Use it in the Classroom?

Conclusion

The Contemporary English Classrooom: Media Literacy

 

Chapter 10: Evaluating English Language Arts

Evaluating English Language Arts

State and District Writing Assignments

Authentic Assessment

Purpose of Evaluation

Evaluating Literature

Constructing Tests

Writing Test Questions

Evaluating Writing

Evaluation by Levels

            Level 1

Katherine McKnight is an associate professor and associate department chair of secondary education at National-Louis University. She also serves as an onsite professional development consultant for the National Council of Teachers of English. She began her career as a literacy educator over 20 years ago and taught high school English for over ten years. Her recent books have focused on using improvisation in the classroom, teaching writing in grades 6-12, and teaching the classics in the inclusive classroom.

Summary

Ideal for pre-service and new teachers, this book shows what it’s really like to step before a classroom of grade six to 12 students and make English language arts approachable and real. Presenting a constructivist approach that asks, “How can my students best learn?” and emphasizing reflective practice as the means to make the concepts clear, Teaching English in Middle and Secondary Schools, 5/e is filled with actual sample lessons plus classroom ideas and instructional strategies that give readers opportunities to explore what they are learning and see how theory and research relate to practice.

Product details

• Authors: Rhoda Maxwell, Rhoda S. Maxwell, Katherine McKnight, Katherine S. McKnight, Mary Meiser, Mary Jordan Meiser
• Publisher: Pearson Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 05.09.2024
• EAN: 9780135135303
• ISBN: 978-0-13-513530-3
• No. of pages: 416
• Dimensions: 203 mm x 251 mm x 28 mm
• Weight: 871 g
• Series: Allyn & Bacon; Allyn & Bacon
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Education > Education system