ABSTRACT
James Moffett (1929–1996) never considered himself a traditional scholar and never adopted the title of professor, even when he taught in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. He was a teacher who always wrote practically, with students and fellow teachers in mind. He gained national recognition for his work as a consultant, workshop leader, and writer, theorizing about discourse and writing across the curriculum, and promoting school reform. He is best known for his 1968 book, Teaching the Universe of Discourse, and its companion, which he wrote with Betty Jane Wagner, Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K–12: A Handbook for Teachers (1976; 1992 4th ed.), a collection of lessons and ideas for teaching writing. He envisioned whole-language classrooms that spanned all grade levels and included reading, writing, art, drama, and singing, to name only a few of the creative acts of mind and body that he felt were essential.
