Anderson, P. M., & Rubano, G. (1991). Enhancing aesthetic reading and response. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Includes several simple, clever activities for involving students actively in aesthetic reading.

Atwell, N. (1997). In the middle: Writing, reading, and learning with adolescents. (2d ed.) Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann-Boynton/Cook. Describes a language arts and reading program in a Maine middle school. Includes suggestions for writing workshops, literature conferences, record keeping.

*Beach, R., & Myers, J. (2001). Inquiry-based English instruction: Engaging students in life and literature.  New York: Teachers College. A fundamental approach to the curriculum in which students explore the various worlds in which they live, including their neighborhoods and social groups as well as the text worlds of literature.  Contains many practical ideas to stimulate creative and original long-term planning.

Bishop, W. (1990). Released into language: Options for teaching creative writing. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Describes different ways to set up a creative writing class, including writing prompts and activities.

*Blau, S. D. (2003). The literature workshop: Teaching texts and their readers.  A collection of the author's workshops for teachers on problems such as balancing respect for learners with respect for texts, designing appropriate writing assignments about literature, and establishing a literary community in the classroom.  Provides illustrative activities for each problem. 

*Bowen, C. P., & Tantillo, S. H. (2002).  Applying NCTE/IRA Standards in classroom journalism projects: Activities and scenarios.  Practical activities for research, media study, and journalistic writing organized according to the twelve national standards for English language arts published in 1996. 

Buehl, D. (1995). Classroom strategies for interactive learning. Schofield, WI: Wisconsin State Reading Association. This set of highly adaptable formats for promoting thoughtful reading and study, prepared by a teacher at Madison East High School, can be used in English and other subjects.

*Burke, J. (2000). Reading reminders: Tools, tips, and techniques.  Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.  Ninety-six maxims for teachers of reading, including numerous specific examples of teaching strategies and study guides related to many kinds of literature.

Burke, J. (2003). The English teacher's companion: A complete guide to classroom, curriculum, and the profession.  (2d ed.) Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook.  The title says it all; the section on  use of visual strategies such as timelines and mandalas to promote thinking is outstanding.  

Caplan, R. (1984). Writers in training: A guide to developing a composition program for language arts teachers. Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour. Written by an eighth grade teacher, this book outlines a program based on exercises that help students to "show, not tell" in their writing. Includes suggestions for conferences and for linking writing to the study of literature. Other topics include comparison/contrast and persuasion.

*Childers, P., Hobson, E. H., & Mullin, J. A. (1998). ARTiculating: Teaching writing in a visual world. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann-Boynton/Cook. A highly unusual and thought-provoking exploration of the relationship of graphic representation and writing that includes not specific lesson plans but high-level suggestions for instruction, such as writing about visual images, illustrating written work, and drawing to enhance observation skills prior to writing. The authors include examples from several subjects in addition to English.

Collom, J., & Noethe, S. (2000).  Poetry everywhere: Teaching poetry writing in school and in the community.  New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative.  A collection of formulas to help anyone write poetry, in the spirit of Koch's Wishes, lies, and dreams, plus examples of found poetry.    

*Culham, R. (2003). 6+1 traits of writing: The complete guide: Grades 3 and up: Everything you need to teach and assess student writing with this powerful model.  New York: Scholastic.  NREL's systematic approach to the writing curriculum based on six or seven primary traits of written work, which is a popular way to coordinate teachers' efforts across grades and subjects in many school districts, in a presentation that includes writing samples and rubric posters. 

Costanzo, W. (1984). Double exposure: Composing through writing and film. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann-Boynton/Cook. As the title implies, this book presents a series of activities in which students consider and use visual techniques in the expression of meaning.

Daniels, H. (1994). Literature circles: Voice and choice in the student-centered classroom (2d ed.). York, ME: Stenhouse. Includes detailed directions and reproducible student guide sheets (in Spanish as well as English!) for structuring small-group discussions of literature in which all students in the same group read the same work. A particular strength of this book is its focus on roles for group participants such as "discussion director," "summarizer," and "enricher."

*Dean, D. (2006). Strategic writing: The writing process and beyond in the secondary English classroom. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A wealth of specific teaching activities to strengthen students' awareness of genre, audience, and purpose in writing, and to provide practice in revision and in writing as a mode of inquiry. 

Dellinger, D. G. (1982). Out of the heart: How to design writing assignments for high school courses. Berkeley, CA: Bay Area Writing Project. Discusses how to move from personal experience through narrative and exposition to persuasive writing. Available on ERIC microfiche.

Denman, G. (1988).  When you've made it your own . . . Teaching poetry to young people. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  A comprehensive approach to poetry, including activities to promote authentic response and creative writing, for primary-grade through middle-school learners. 

*Dunning, S., & Stafford, W. (1992). Getting the knack: 20 poetry writing exercises 20. Urbana, IL: NCTE.  A variety of engaging activities in many poetic forms. 

*Edgar, C., & Padgett, R. (1999). Classics in the classroom: Using great literature to teach writing.  New York: Teachers and Writers Collaborative.  A set of essays in the spirit of Koch's Rose, Where Did You Get That Red that suggest creative ways to use classic literature as a jumping-off point for writing.

*Golden, J. (2001). Reading in the dark: Using film as a tool in the English classroom. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A compendium of practical methods for teaching about film as well as using film to support reading and literary study; includes reproducible guides.

*Haussamen, B. (2003). Grammar alive!  A guide for teachers.  Urbana, IL: NCTE.  A collection of essays sponsored by NCTE's pro-grammar-instruction special interest group that includes varied approaches such as sentence imitation, analyzing the patterns of non-native speakers, and even sentence diagramming.

*Higginson, W. J., with Harter, P. (1985). The haiku handbook: How to write, share, and teach haiku. New York: Kodansha International [distributed by Teachers & Writers Collaborative]. A wealth of fascinating background on this deceptively simple form, including a chapter on teaching ideas and  an extensive collection of sample haiku.  

*Jago, C. (2004). Classics in the classroom: Designing accessible literature lessons. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. A personal approach with many illustrative activities that contains enough background information to make it especially useful for teachers who are unfamiliar with or uncomfortable teaching older, canonical literature.  (Not to be confused with the book with a similar title by Edgar & Padgett, which takes a completely different approach.)

Jody, M., & Saccardi, M. (1996). Using computers to teach literature: A teacher's guide.  (Second Edition of Computer conversations: Readers and books online.) Urbana, IL: NCTE. Tells how to use information and communications technology to enhance literature instruction K-12.

*Kajder, S. B. (2003). The tech-savvy English classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Overview of the application of information and communication technologies in the classroom, with ideas for computer-based activities and projects. 

Kilgallon, D. (1998). Sentence composing for high school: A worktext on sentence variety and maturity.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  Exercises for developing a more sophisticated style through imitation of models. 

*King-Shaver, B, & Hunter, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction in the English classroom: Content, process, product, and assessment. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  A simple collection of strategies for grouping learners according to their interests, readiness, and learning styles, and for designing and evaluating multiple alternative activities related to the same instructional goals. 

Koch, K. (1990/1973). Rose, where did you get that red? Teaching great poetry to children. New York: Vintage. Concentrating on upper elementary grades but applicable K- 12, this book uses actual student work to show how imitation can be used to help students understand poetry.

Koch, K. (1970). Wishes, lies, and dreams: Teaching children to write poetry. New York: Harper Perennial. A classic text that presents suggestions for teachers (e.g., encourage free verse because it allows children to concentrate on the essence of poetic language) as well as several formulas students can use in creating their own poems. Examples are drawn from grades 1-5, but the techniques are workable in middle schools, too.

Langer, J. (1995). Envisioning literature: Literary understanding and literature instruction. New York: Teachers College/IRA. A solid theoretical orientation to the teaching of literature with several classroom techniques.

Laubach, D. C. (1989). Introduction to folklore. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. A textbook for high-school students containing exemplary suggested activities as well as an exemplary selection of folk genres for this popular subject.

Macrorie, K. (1988). The I-search paper. Revised edition of Showing Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann-Boynton/Cook. Describes a narrative approach to research in which students use writing to explore their subject rather than simply to report results.

*McMahon, S. I., & Raphael, T. E., Eds. (1997). The book club connection: Literacy learning and classroom talk.  New York: Teachers College.  A set of essays about student-centered literature discussion in a variety of formats with several suggested devices to promote response.

Mellor, B. (1999). Reading Hamlet. Urbana, IL: NCTE.  A set of scene-by-scene suggestions for the study of themes, imagery, and character in Hamlet, with interesting background about the genre of revenge tragedy, the historical context.  Intended for high-school students.

*Michaels, J. R. (2001). Dances with words: Helping students love language through authentic vocabulary instruction. A series of creative suggestions for word study in high school, embedded in reflective vignettes of the author's classroom.  

Moffett, J. (1992). Active voice: A writing program across the curriculum. 2d ed. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. A writing course emphasizing dialogue and narrative as tools in the development of ideas.

Moon, B. (2000). Studying literature: New approaches to poetry and fiction. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A set of novel classroom activities for high school based on poststructuralist literary theory.  

Moon, B. (2001). Studying poetry: Activities, resources, and texts. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Dozens of unusual activities for high school, such as looking at drafts of poems, that present poetry itself as a way of being in the world; also an excellent collection of poems.   

National Council of Teachers of English (1995). Teaching literature in high school: The novel. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A collection of brief lesson plans.

National Council of Teachers of English (1995). Teaching literature in middle school: Fiction. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A collection of brief lesson plans.

Nelson, G. L. (1994). Writing and being: Taking back our lives through the power of language. San Diego, CA: Lura Media. A set of meditative writing activities with undertones of social and personal empowerment.

Noden, H. (1999). Image grammar: Using grammatical structures to teach writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  Study of sentence-level models is the main approach to style and rhetoric in this rich collection of writing exercises that defines the terms image and grammar broadly and doesn't deal much with punctuation, usage, or correctness.  Accompanying CD contains additional activities, examples, and art work. 

Noguchi, R. (1991) Grammar and the teaching of writing: Limits and possibilities. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A good theoretical discussion combined with numerous alternatives to grammar drill for helping students improve their sense of style and correct usage.

Novak, J. D., & Gowin, D. B. (1984). Learning how to learn. Cambridge University Press. Explains how to use concept mapping for planning, teaching, and assessment.

O'Brien, P. (Ed.) (1993). Shakespeare set free: Teaching Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A midsummer night's dream. New York: Washington Square Press. Detailed, varied lesson plans. Also in the series: Teaching Hamlet and Henry IV, part I, and Teaching Twelfth night and Othello.

*O'Keefe, V. (1995). Speaking to think/thinking to speak: The importance of talk in the learning process. Clearly explains the use of speech in an English classroom, including whole- and small-group instruction.  Includes many speaking and listening activities. 

Purves, A., Rogers, W., and Soter, A. (1995). How porcupines make love III: Readers, texts, cultures in the response-based literature classroom. New York: Longman. This third edition of a classic text includes a philosophy and a collection of practical ideas (story vignettes, journals, choral reading, etc.) especially for middle and high school teachers.

*Reid, L., & Golub, J. (Eds.) (1999). Reflective activities: Helping students connect with texts. Classroom practices in teaching English, v. 30. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Twenty-seven specific, discrete "classroom-tested" methods and activities such as "Writing toward thoughtfulness through logs" and "Investigation Waltz" that help students think about, and formulate understandings of, literary and other texts. 

Rico, G. (1983). Writing the natural way: Using right brain techniques to release your expressive powers. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher. Written for adults who want to write, this book presents several visualization strategies adaptable to prewriting in schools.

Rico, G., & Claggett, M. F. (1980). Balancing the hemispheres: Brain research and the teaching of writing. Curriculum Publication no. 14. Berkeley, CA: Bay Area Writing Project. Several imaginative strategies such as metaphoric writing, mapping, and mandalas to help students crystallize their thoughts in writing. Based on a simplified theory of brain functioning that has long since been superseded, but useful nonetheless.

Schoenbach, R., Greenleaf, C., Cziko, C., & Hurwitz, L. (1999).  Reading for understanding: A guide to improving reading in middle and high school classrooms.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. A collection of content-area reading strategies, presented within a simplified theoretical framework. 

Scholastic (1975). Miniguides. New York: Citation. An interdisciplinary collection of thematic unit ideas (see Tchudi and Mitchell, page 95).  Not current, but a good set of examples of how to organize units thematically.

Shuman, R. B., & Wolfe, D. (1990). Teaching English through the arts. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Includes a rationale and several examples of how to connect language study, literature, and writing with cartoons, music, picture books, sketches, and other art forms.

Smagorinsky, P. (1996). Standards in practice grades 9-12. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A series of believable vignettes illustrating the principles embodied in the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English language arts.

Smagorinsky, P., and others (1987). Explorations: Introductory activities for literature and composition. Urbana, IL: ERIC/NCTE. A compendious and  useful collection in which role-playing, scenarios, and other (more routine) strategies are described.

Smith, M. (1991). Understanding unreliable narrators: Reading between the lines in the literature classroom. Urbana, IL: NCTE. A TRIP book on an important subject for high school literature teachers, whose students often have trouble getting the concept of irony.

Somers, A. B. (1999). Teaching poetry in high school.  Urbana, IL: NCTE. Practical ideas for teaching that focus on selecting, reading, responding to, and writing poetry in high school.  An extremely comprehensive guide that includes principles for constructing a poetry unit and for managing discussions of poetry. 

Strong, W. (1986). Creative approaches to sentence combining. Urbana, IL: NCTE. Surprisingly imaginative new twists on an old idea, including ways of using sentence combining in the study of literature.

Taggart, G. L., Phifer, S. J., Nixon, J. A., & Wood, M. (Eds.) (2001). Rubrics: A handbook for construction and use.  Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. A collection of practical articles providing detailed instructions for constructing student-oriented scoring guides. 

Weaver, C. (1996). Teaching grammar in context. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. An application of research-based principles to a subject that is sometimes a challenge to teach in an interesting way, with many specific examples. (See also Weaver's smaller 1979 book, Grammar for teachers, which includes a chapter on "What to do with grammar.")

Wilhelm, J. (1997). You gotta BE the book: Teaching engaged and reflective reading with adolescents. New York: Teachers College/NCTE. Report of an intensive, long-term study of the reading of students in the author's own Wisconsin middle-school English class, including several broadly applicable approaches for teaching.

Wilhelm, J. D., & Edmiston, B. (1998). Imagining to learn: Inquiry, ethics, and integration through drama.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.  Research-based discussion of ways to develop ethical thinking and engagement with literature through specific performance activities. 

*Wilhelm, J. D. (2001). Improving comprehension with think-alound strategies: Modeling what good readers do.  New York: Scholastic. Though obviously marketed for teachers of students at the intermediate level, a thoughtful treatment of a basic teaching strategy that is also applicable to middle and high-school classes encountering difficult texts. 

Willis, M. S. (1984). Personal fiction writing: A guide to writing from real life for teachers, students, and writers.  New York: Teachers and Writers Collaborative.  As the title implies, this is a practical handbook filled with scores of writing exercises on description, writing dialogue, developing plot, and similar skills.  It is in at least its sixth printing.

Willis, M. S. (1993).  Deep revision: A guide for teachers, students, and other writers.  New York: Teachers and Writers Collaborative. Dozens of specific, practical, imaginative suggestions and strategies for considering one's own drafts and those of others in a writing workshop.

Zemelman, S., & Daniels, H. (1988). A community of writers: Teaching writing in junior and senior high school. An orientation to a social-interactive, process-oriented form of writing instruction, including excellent descriptions of activities for stimulating thought such as guided imagery.
 

John Zbikowski, Department of Curriculum and Instruction  Comments on this web page? Email zbikowsj@uww.edu Last updated August 27, 2006 http://facstaff.uww.edu/zbikowsj/methbibl.htm