Because of the emphasis placed on nonfiction and informational texts by the Common Core State Standards, literature teachers all over the country are re-evaluating their curriculum and looking for thoughtful ways to incorporate nonfiction into their courses. They are also rethinking their pedagogy as they consider ways to approach texts that are outside the usual fare of secondary literature classrooms. The Third Edition of Critical Encounters in Secondary English provides an integrated approach to incorporating nonfiction and informational texts into the literature classroom. Grounded in solid theory with new field-tested classroom activities, this new edition shows teachers how to adapt practices that have always defined good pedagogy to the new generation of standards for literature instruction. New for the Third Edition: A new preface and new introduction that discusses the CCSS and their implications for literature instruction. Lists of nonfiction texts at the end of each chapter related to the critical lens described in that chapter. A new chapter on new historicism, a critical lens uniquely suited to interpreting nonfiction and informational sources. New classroom activities created and field-tested specifically for use with nonfiction texts. Additional activities that demonstrate how informational texts can be used in conjunction with traditional literary texts. “What a smart and useful book!” —Mike Rose, University of California, Los Angeles “[This book] has enriched my understanding both of teaching literature and of how I read. I know of no other book quite like it.” —Michael W. Smith, Temple University, College of Education “I have recommended Critical Encounters to every group of preservice and practicing teachers that I have taught or worked with and I will continue to do so.” —Ernest Morrell, director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME), Teachers College, Columbia University

Incarcerated bodies, liberated minds: a narrative of literacy education behind bars. Words No Bars Can Hold provides a rare glimpse into literacy learning under the most dehumanizing conditions. Deborah Appleman chronicles her work teaching college- level classes at a high- security prison for men, most of whom are serving life sentences. Through narrative, poetry, memoir, and fiction, the students in Appleman’s classes attempt to write themselves back into a society that has erased their lived histories. The students’ work, through which they probe and develop their identities as readers and writers, illuminates the transformative power of literacy. Appleman argues for the importance of educating the incarcerated, and explores ways to interrupt the increasingly common journey from urban schools to our nation’s prisons. From the sobering endpoint of what scholars have called the “school to prison pipeline,” she draws insight from the narratives and experiences of those who have traveled it.

This book examines the role of temperament and taste in the forming of aesthetic and ideological opinions. In provocative chapters about reading and writing, about the relation between life and literature, about knowledge and certainty, about God and death, and about a gradual disaffection with the literary scene, the book demonstrates that opposing points of view are based more on innate predilections than on disinterested thought or analysis.

Presents a comprehensive, theoretically grounded model of children’s understanding of picture storybooks—the first to focus specifically on young children. Relevant to contemporary young children from a wide variety of ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds, this dynamic volume includes a wealth of examples of children’s responses to literature and how teachers scaffold their interpretation of stories. “The highest recommendation I can make is that I learned so much. . . . You will too!” —From the Foreword by P. David Pearson, University of California, Berkeley “The single most important book on this topic since Applebee’s The Child’s Concept of Story . . . it is also a pleasure to read.” —Lee Galda, University of Minnesota “Sipe provides a comprehensive theory of literary understanding specific to contemporary young children’s interactions with picture books. Storytime is grounded in well-documented research, an in-depth knowledge of literary theory, and enlivened by insightful commentary.” —Glenna Sloan, Professor Emerita, Queens College of the City University of New York “As a working illustrator who spends most days drawing or painting or dreaming about children's picturebooks, I sometimes wonder, ‘Is there really any point to all of this?’ In this book, Larry Sipe shows me clearly, wittily, and thoroughly that there is.” —Chris Raschka, Caldecott Medal–winning children's book author and illustrator “Those of us who work with children, picturebooks, and teachers could have no more insightful guide to their interactions than Larry Sipe himself.” —Nancy L. Roser, University of Texas, Austin

An examination of the importance of writing on the development of different societies.

"Wow, wow, and wow At the time when we most need it, with the advent of the Common Core State Standards and in the midst of a documented crisis in adolescent literacy, here come Deborah Appleman and Michael Graves with a very smart, very practical, very flexible model for professional, responsive, critical teaching of reading called the SRE (Scaffolded Reading Experience)." Jeffrey Wilhelm, author of Going with the Flow "I wish I could change one thing about Reading Better, Reading Smarter: I wish I could have demanded that Appleman and Graves had written it sooner. When you start using their SREs (Scaffolded Reading Experiences), it won't only be that your students are reading better and most certainly reading smarter, it will be that your teaching changes. This won't just be a book you read; this will be a book you use." Kylene Beers, author of When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do "Everyone preparing students to meet Common Core Standards needs this book. Appleman and Graves explain how to scaffold instruction for challenging readings without taking the pleasure out of teaching. They demonstrate classroom approaches that engage students in powerful discussion and foster a love of thinking. Let's keep our eye not on the test but on the text " Carol Jago, author of With Rigor for All, Second Edition "Our purpose in writing this book is to introduce the SRE approach to both preservice and inservice English teachers so that students in all secondary language arts classrooms can become better, smarter readers." Deborah Appleman and Michael Graves Reading Better, Reading Smarter addresses all areas of planning and implementing Scaffolded Reading Experiences and prepares teachers to create their own SREs to scaffold their students' reading. An SRE is a flexible instructional framework composed of pre-, during-, and postreading activities tailored to a specific instructional situation. Deborah Appleman and Michael Graves combine the theory and research behind the Scaffolded Reading Experience (SRE) to create this very practical guide showing preservice and inservice teachers how to use this flexible approach to ensuring that each and every student can read, learn from, and enjoy each and every text he or she reads. By considering the text, their students, and the purpose of the lesson, teachers will be able create appropriate scaffolding for each reading experience their students face. This widely applicable text includes: Twenty two types of pre-, during-, and postreading activities designed to lead students to success Examples of each activity along with information on how to create each type of activity Detailed classroom lesson plans and explanations of what an SRE is and what it is supposed to do as well as what it is not supposed to do Guidance for evaluating and assessing the difficulty of text and formal and informal ways for evaluating student performance.

An enlarged and updated edition of Ruth Finnegan's authoritative and fully evidenced classic.