Being Born a Crime Didn’t Only Happen to Trevor Noah:: A Student Inquiry Project on Criminalized Identities

Born A Crime, a memoir by Trevor Noah, has been a common addition to high school curricula in recent years. This paper addresses how to effectively teach this complex text and incorporates a research project that allows students to personalize chosen topics. The students who completed the focus work were on-level 10th grade ELA students and the unit took eight instructional weeks. This class met three times a week for two 88-minute blocks and one 44-minute class. The unit was engaging, and the rigor was appropriate for normally developing or advanced 10th grade students. Modifications were made for support-seeking students and those notes are included in this paper. The focus standards for this unit are Common Core W.10.9, RL.10.6, and RI 10.6. Students had access to a variety of academic databases for the research project, their own school-issued computers, and a copy of the memoir

Supporting New Teachers with Literacy Instruction: Small Changes to Graduate Literacy Programs That Can Have a Big Impact

Since 2018, there has been an increase in the use of the term Science of Reading (SoR), which is a method of teaching reading that is connected to an understanding of reading and reading development that aligns with scientific research (Shanahan, 2020). Teachers who are new to the classroom may be unfamiliar with SoR and teaching practices that align with this pedagogy. Institutions of higher education, specifically graduate literacy programs, are in a position to support and mentor new teachers with the current shift in literacy instruction. This article addresses changes that can be made to graduate course content in order to support new teachers, particularly during this shift to a new method of literacy instruction. This article offers ideas for how higher education can play a role in better preparing new teachers for SoR instruction

Teaching Tips: Delight and Inspire

When we put out the call for teaching tips this year, we did not have a theme in mind. However, as the submissions rolled in, one emerged. The selections in this column highlight the ways we as teachers listen to our students. This deep listening enables us to intervene in students’ learning experiences in order to create a lasting positive impact on our students’ lives

A Means of Living, Seeing, and Teaching through Haiku

Natalie Goldberg’s Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage Into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku was reviewed by several Kansas Association of Teachers of English members who participated in a book study. Goldberg’s text is applicable not only for one’s own creative pursuits, but it is also valuable for instruction of haiku in ELA classes and social-emotional activities. No matter where one is on their life or pedagogical journey, there’s something for everyone to unpack from Goldberg’s text

Universal Design for Learning as a Pathway for Accessible Narrative Writing Practices for Diverse Adolescents

Equitable learning opportunities are critical for students to meet writing standards. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a scientifically based framework for planning and implementing instruction that supports a broad range of diverse learners. In this article, the UDL framework is briefly described, including its principles and guidelines. Vignettes are shared throughout to illustrate how one teacher applied the UDL framework to plan a narrative writing unit for a diverse group of adolescent learners. Adopting the use of the UDL framework during the instructional planning process ensures that instructional practices are centered on student strengths and offer avenues for accessible and equitable learning experiences for all students. This article closes with digital tools that promote 21st century learning and offer a pathway to accessibility

Strengthening Teacher Preparation: Addressing Perceptions of Behavior Management and Bilingual Learners during Field Experiences

A large body of literature recognizes the many challenges teachers experience in the classroom. The research and subsequent article bring to light the concerns identified by undergraduate teacher candidates during a day-long field experience. The intention of the experience was to focus on literacy instruction; however, that was often overshadowed by classroom and behavior management concerns and questions. Reflections and discussions after the experience were dominated by the identified behavior and classroom management issues and concerns the teacher candidates noticed. Their post-experience reflections were so focused on them that the candidates were unable to process the literacy behaviors, instruction, and resources

Perspectives from the President

KATE President Nathan Whitman, who doesn’t watch football, provides an analogy to the 2022-2023 school year using football terminology in an attempt to reflect on the state of education in Kansas. Will it be a touchdown or a fumble? Read on and find out

Review of Expanding Literacy: Bringing Digital Storytelling into Your Classroom

Brett Pierce’s recent book Expanding Literacy: Bringing Digital Storytelling into Your Classroom (Heinemann, 2022) provides accessible, research-based instructional strategies and assessment for integrating digital literacy practices in classrooms, while honoring students’ existing literacy expertise and creating more equitable classroom spaces

He Made a Federal Case Out of It: Steven Frank's Class Action and the Salvation of Childhood

In Steven Frank’s 2018 novel Class Action, middle-schooler Sam realizes something needs to change. When his teacher sends home a practice test to take over the weekend, Sam snaps. He stands on his desk holding up a hand-drawn “NO HW†sign and encourages others to do the same. When Sam is suspended his journey begins

Knowing the Rules: A Reflective Essay

Drawing on the author’s 30-plus years of teaching experience and 18-plus years of directing the Writing Program at Wichita State University, this reflective essay examines some of the anxieties incoming graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) face concerning grammar instruction and how those are mitigated. While grammar instruction remains an important element of composition pedagogy, incoming GTAs often arrive to orientation with a lack of felicity with the rules, a sense of inadequacy knowing the rules, or both. The author postulates some reasons why this happens, but uses a gentle approach to poke some fun at the often over-seriousness of the entire endeavor