Joe Milner is a professor of English Education at Wake Forest University and was, for twenty-eight years, the Chairperson of the Education Department. Presently, he serves as Coordinator of the English Education Program, Director of the Advanced Placement Summer Institute, Director of the Visiting International Fellows Graduate Program, and Director of the North Carolina Literacy Project at Wake Forest University. During forty years of participation in the work of NCTE, he has served as Chair of the Conference on English Education, Chair of the International Assembly, Co- chair of the Assembly on American Literature, and a member of the Executive Committee and other committees. He has authored, co-authored, and edited eight books and numerous articles on English education, children’s literature, aesthetics, linguistics, and American literature. For these years of service to English education on a national, state, and local level, he received the North Carolina English Teachers Association Lifetime Achievement award.

Lucy Milner has taught English in two urban high schools in North Carolina and English Education at Salem College. Her involvement in the North Carolina Governor’s School program spans more than three decades, first as an English teacher and then as the Director of N. C. Governor’s School West. She has developed curriculum materials for several institutions and has written numerous book reviews and features for a variety of newspapers and educational journals, co-edited two books on children’s literature and English pedagogy, and co-authored five editions of Bridging English. Like her co-authors, she has received local and state awards for her contributions to education, but none so cherished as having two school annuals dedicated to her.

Joan Mitchell is currently completing her doctoral work in English Education at the University of Alabama where her research focus is the pedagogy of revision and its impact on student writing. After completing her MAEd in English Education at Wake Forest University, she taught a diverse group of North Carolina and Colorado students in courses ranging from regular English 9 to AP Literature. She was recognized by NCTE’s state affiliate as the state’s outstanding student teacher (2002—2003) and by the University of Alabama as its most outstanding graduate student in English Education (2009—2010). Her presentations and articles have examined topics ranging from mentoring pre-service teachers to the dynamics of moral discussion in the classroom. She presently serves as a program coordinator for the Assembly on American Literature and a reviewer for the journal English Education.

2. Designing Instruction

3. Centering on Language 
4. Developing an Oral Foundation

5. Responding to Literature

6. Celebrating Poetry

7. Unlocking Texts

8. Engaging Drama

9. Assaying Nonfiction

10. Making Media Matter

11. Inspiring Writing

12. Enabling Writing

13. Evaluating Learning

14. Planning Lessons

15. Becoming a Complete Teacher

Detailed Table of Contents 

1. Envisioning English

Initial Definitions

A Brief History

Challenges of Teaching English in the Twenty-first Century

Core Beliefs

Individual Decisions

Conclusion

2. Designing Instruction

The Nature of Learners

The Learning Process

Four Organizational Structures

Layering the Four Approaches

Learning with Technology

Conclusion

3. Centering on Language

Consciousness

The story of the English Language

The Study of Language: Linguistics

The Instructional Debate

Language Instruction

Conclusion

4. Developing an Oral Foundation

Classroom Talking and Listening

Oral Language Activities

Creative Drama

Alternative Oral Strategies

Evaluating Oral Strategies

Evaluating Oracy

Conclusion

5. Responding to Literature

What Is Literature?

Why Read Literature?

Three Phases of the Teaching Cycle: Enter, Explore, Extend

Four Stages of Reading Literature

Reader Response

Interpretive Community

Formal Analysis

Critical Synthesis

Conclusion

6. Celebrating Poetry

Finding Poetry

Forging Poetry

Discerning Poetry

Probing Poetry

Placing Poetry

Resources

Conclusion

7. Unlocking Texts

Teaching Reading

Talking the Classics

Challenging the Canon

Teaching Noncanonical and Canonical Texts

Censorship

Conclusion

8. Engaging Drama

Enter, Explore, and Extend Drama Worlds

Teaching Shakespeare

Conclusion

9. Assaying Nonfiction

Why Teach Nonfiction?

Nonfiction Genres in the Classroom

Nonfiction in the Fiction Classroom

Conclusion

10. Making Media Matter

Produce: Students As Creators

Receive: Students as Listeners and Viewers

Examine: Students as Anthropologists and Literary Critics

Critique: Students as Media Critics

Conclusion

11. Inspiring Writing

A National Writing Report Card

Core Beliefs about Language and Writing Instruction

Developmental Tasks

Process Model

Writing Workshops

Portfolios

Authentic Assessment

12. Enabling Writing

Four Basic Needs

Collaborative Writing

Environmental Journalism

Journal Writing

Write to Learn

Sentence Combining

Vocabulary Growth

Research Alternatives

Elemental Variation

Lit. Write

Collaborative Authors

Apprentice Writing

Summary of Research About Writing

Conclusion

13. Evaluating Learning

Standardized Tests

Grading and Evaluation

Alternative Methods of Evaluation

Evaluating Knowledge and Response to Literature

Evaluating Writing

Alternative Grading Choices

Critique of Traditional Grading

Conclusion

14. Planning Lessons

Lesson Planning Models

Unit Planning

Curriculum Planning

Variables in Any Planning/

Constant Classroom Structures and Concerns

Conclusion

15. Becoming a Complete Teacher

Defining Yourself as a Teacher

Building Public Trust

Promoting Professional Growth

Professional Leadership

Conclusion

References

Index

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