Current Issue Review: Lightning Paths: 75 Poetry Writing Exercises by Kyle Vaughn (NCTE, 2018, 121 pp.) 21 Mar 202021 Mar 2020 Paul Wiegel, Ripon High School/Lumen Charter High School,wiegelp @ ripon.k12.wi.us Lightning Paths: 75 Poetry Exercises is Vaughn’s second book, and his first focused specifically on the teaching of poetry. Vaughn’s…
Current Issue Review: The Adventure of English (500 AD to 2,000): The Biography of a Language by Melvin Bragg (Spectre, 2003, 317 pp.) 21 Mar 202021 Mar 2020 Thomas Hansen, past Illinois State Supervisor for K-12 Foreign Language Programs, Illinois State Board of Education This book represents a fantastically interesting way to look at the history of our…
Current Issue Review: But How Do You Teach Writing? A Simple Guide for All Teachers by Barry Lane (Scholastic, 2008, 200 pp.) 21 Mar 202021 Mar 2020 Thomas Hansen, past Illinois State Supervisor for K-12 Foreign Language Programs, Illinois State Board of Education This is an older book written by a very popular professional development expert with…
Vol 61, No 1 (2019) Review: Reading with Presence: Crafting Mindful, Evidence-Based Reading Responses, by Marilyn Pryle (Heinemann, 2018. 166 pp.) 4 May 201921 Mar 2020 Paul Wiegel, English Teacher, Ripon High School/Lumen Charter High School, wiegelp @ ripon.k12.wi.us Reading with Presence is Pryle’s seventh book aimed at making middle and high school students better readers,…
Vol 61, No 1 (2019) Review: Lessons Learned from the Special Education Classroom: Opportunities for All Students to Listen, Learn and Lead, by Peg Grafwallner (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018. 114 pp.) 4 May 201921 Mar 2020 Heidi Hamilton, Special Education Teacher, Arrowhead Union High School, hamilton @ arrowheadschools.org Elizabeth Jorgensen, Language Arts Teacher, Arrowhead Union High School, jorgensene @ arrowheadschools.org Lessons Learned from the Special Education…
Vol 61, No 1 (2019) Review: Winning Grants Step by Step: The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing, and Writing Successful Proposals, by Tori O’Neal-McElrath (4th ed., Jossey-Bass, 2013. 128 pp.) 4 May 201921 Mar 2020 Thomas Hansen, past Illinois State Supervisor for K-12 Foreign Language Programs, Illinois State Board of Education I have used the book in previous editions and will be using this one now…
Vol 61, No 1 (2019) Review: An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski (Howard Books, 2011. 252 pp.) 4 May 201921 Mar 2020 Thomas Hansen, past Illinois State Supervisor for K-12 Foreign Language Programs, Illinois State Board of Education Spiritually, I understand the author and her motives and feelings. I really loved this story,…
Vol 60, No 2 (2018) Review: Backbiters by Debra Leea Glasheen (Montag Press, 2017. 320 pp.) 31 Oct 201831 Oct 2018 Karen Ambrosh, Audubon High School, Milwaukee, kambrosh @ gmail.com In Debra Leea Glasheen’s debut novel, Backbiters, the fifteen-year-old protagonist, Giluli, maneuvers between her own culture of mahogany-eyed mutants and the…
Vol 60, No 2 (2018) Review: Teacher Man: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (Scribner, 2005. 272 pp.) 31 Oct 201831 Oct 2018 Thomas Hansen, past Illinois State Supervisor for K-12 Foreign Language Programs, Illinois State Board of Education I loved the other great books by Frank McCourt, but I had never read this…
Vol 60, No 2 (2018) Review: Grammar to Get Things Done: A Practical Guide for Teachers Anchored in Real-World Usage by Darren Crovitz and Michelle D Devereaux (Routledge, 2017. 232 pp.) 31 Oct 201831 Oct 2018 Adam Sprague, Assistant Professor and Student Success Coordinator, Bellin College, adam.sprague @ bellincollege.edu Kennesaw State University colleagues Darren Crovitz, author of Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing, and Michelle D.…