Scrutinizing Language and Politics
Explore the key roles of language in
politics and culture in your classroom by discussing doublespeak and nominating
examples that you find for the NCTE
Doublespeak Award (deadline: September 30, 2004). For help getting
started, English Journal subscribers can check out "Doublespeak
Detection for
the English Classroom" for examples from literature, newspapers, and
advertisements. Advertisements
can
provide a fertile source for examples. Teaching English in the Two-Year College
subscribers can find additional suggestions in "Advertising
and Interpretive Analysis: Developing Reading, Thinking, and Writing Skills in
the Composition
Course" by Matthew Henry.
Exploring Technologies
of the Future
From personal computers to MP3 players
and tablet PCs,
our students may interact with a wide range of technologies during the day. Where
will these technologies lead us? How will they change the classroom? The ReadWriteThink
lesson Paying
Attention to Technology: Exploring a Fictional Technology asks
students to compare their beliefs about technology
to the ideas in a reading
that depicts technology. Language Arts subscribers can find additional
ways
to
explore
future
technologies
in
the
classroom in "A
Generation in Cyberspace: Engaging Readers through Online Discussion"
from the March
2004 issue. Teaching English in the Two-Year College subscribers can
read
"Y2K+1:
Technology,
Community-College
Students,
the
Millennium,
and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey" for ways to discuss fictional
technologies in the college classroom.
Engaging Readers in Your Classroom
Need incentives to get your students
reading? Invite them to begin Reading
Everywhere with Dr. Seuss and then report on places they "catch" people
reading. Set up a "book buddy" program to encourage cross-level reading,
kicking
off the project
with Book
Buddy Biographies: Intermediate and Primary Students Working Together from
ReadWriteThink. For older students, the NCTE book
Reading
for Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle and High School
Classrooms provides breakthrough strategies you can apply immediately
to boost reading skills.
Check out the Literature
Study—NCTE Published
Articles list for even more approaches.
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