ABSTRACT

English Language Arts offers both undergraduates and starting-graduate students in education an introduction to the connections that exist between language arts and a critical orientation to education. Because language influences all aspects of education, English teachers have a unique responsibility to create opportunities for learners to cultivate literacy practices that will empower them to reach their potential. Applying critical and theoretical perspectives to teaching English language arts, this primer considers how meanings are made in intersecting spaces of learners, teachers, and texts.

Julie Gorlewski shows future and current teachers how critical English language arts education can be put into practice with concrete strategies and examples in both formal and informal educational settings. With opportunities for readers to engage in deeper discussion through suggested activities, English Language Arts’ pedagogical features include:

  • Model Classroom Scenarios
  • Extension Questions
  • Glossary of Key Terms

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|18 pages

Who Are Learners and Teachers, Really?

chapter 3|17 pages

Curriculum in English Classrooms

Who Should Decide?

chapter 4|18 pages

How Can We Teach Texts in Context?

chapter 5|14 pages

Being and Becoming Writers

Who Can Be an Author?

chapter 6|17 pages

The Politics of Teaching

Are Teachers Agents of the State or Agents of Change?