Book Description
This practical methods book provides future middle and high school English teachers with the direction they'll need to choose adolescent literature and to develop ideas for teaching it. Using a highly effective conversational tone, the book provides the latest information about young adult literature in a short, concisely written, classroom-oriented format. The authors show the busy English teacher how to accomplish four important teaching goals including life-long reading, reader response, teaching the classics, and reaching a diverse student population. English Teachers, Grades 6-12. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

young adult lit
The book is a great resource and it came in plenty of time tahnk-you!

Using Young Adult Literature in the English Classroom
This book is an excellent introduction to young adult (YA) literature for the 7th-12th grade English curriculum.It establishes a valid and informative argument for using YA literature based on the developmental theories of Piaget and Inhelder, Robert Havighurst, and G. Robert Carlsen.Bushman and Haas argue that adolescents are interested in reading stories that relate to their own experiences or involve issues they face. Such interest results in emotional and cognitive responses, which in turn fosters a positive attitude towards reading.YA literature, accordingly, supplies all these needs.

This book's structure and extensive discussions on various topics provide essential foundational information upon which English teachers can assess its value in the classroom.For example, it has a section which discusses the features of YA novels, such as plot, character types, key themes, and points of view.It provides a practical framework for teaching YA literature in that it offers teaching strategies and activities which are designed to develop critical thinking skills.Many different YA novels are discussed in relation to various topics throughout the book and several novels are discussed at length.One important section, of many, discusses the important connection between reading and writing and literature's role in providing the context in which to learn to write.It suggests many writing activities which will aid the students in not only synthesizing their ideas about what they read, but also in developing their writing skills.

In my opinion, the book's weakest section is the one discussing "Young Adult Literature as a Bridge to the Classics" (166).This section has a very limited discussion on integrating YA literature with the classics.Many more suggestions on this topic would be helpful because many districts still require the teaching of classics as part of the curriculum.
... Read more

Book Description

Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation is an exciting new book developed to identify for teachers how to better connect adolescents with good literature. Comprehensive enough to ensure that teachers understand today’s adolescents and the literature that will engage them, yet slim enough to ensure readers have the opportunity to read the books themselves, this book will help teachers provide a rich educational experience for adolescents throughout the middle and secondary curriculum while nourishing their love of reading. This book addresses adolescent culture and the types of literature that engage adolescents, including horror, graphic novels, comic books, and many forms of media, more thoroughly and insightfully than any other on the market. Middle and Secondary Inservice Teachers and Reading Specialists.

Customer Reviews (1)

Lots of history, but many recommended titles.
Many books recommended, and I liked the suggestions for how to use the literature.Really good for secondary teachers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Super resource for teachers & parents of upper elementary through high school students
I am a pre-service Secondary Education Major (English & History) and have been using this book for a class focusing upon Young Adult Literature.The lists themselves are reason enough to pickup this book!It is the perfect reference for someone who is new to or even well versed in young adult literature.This text also provides several sources for finding award winning literature for students of all reading levels. You will not be sorry for investing in such an excellent source! ... Read more

Book Description
This guide to the methods and techniques of teaching adolescent literature provides a practical orientation and teaching tools that effectively supplement the literature that instructors will use in the course. A small sampling of adolescent literature is also included. ... Read more

Book Description
The required classics in grades 7-12 are often too complex and removed from adolescent experience. This informative text uses thematic groupings built around recent young adult literature (YAL) as bridges to the classics. This second edition, which the authors have revised and greatly expanded, emphasizes the goal of helping teenagers become lifetime readers, as well as critical and confident readers. By pairing the required classics and young adult literature around common themes, the authors illustrate specific theme connections and include extensive lists of annotated YAL titles at the end of each classic title. New to this second edition:

Book Description

This well-written book will broaden one's thinking and enrich the secondary curriculum.
- Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy

In Interpreting Young Adult Literature, John Moore does something new: he explores the complex interpretive possibilities of young adult novels in the classroom. He crosses the borders of English studies and methods, examining new ways to know literature, new understandings of literary interpretation, and new literatures to teach.

Moore's book presents intriguing ways of thinking about how language works, how we read books, and how we teach them. The theory chapters are presented according to the reading and interpretive issues they address, examining formalism, archetypal criticism, structuralism/semiotics, deconstruction, reader-response, feminism, black aesthetics, and cultural studies. Each of these chapters covers key concepts and basic terms of the theory, introduces and interprets a young adult text from that perspective, and invites readers to join the conversation. The concluding section of each chapter discusses other young adult texts that can be approached from that theory and suggests additional critical studies appropriate for teaching these texts. In the last chapter, Moore draws on theoretical ideas and practices from earlier chapters to demonstrate how a young adult novel may be interpreted from multiple perspectives.

Interpreting Young Adult Literature provides such a solid grounding in applied theory that it will enrich the teaching of any work of fiction. It has much to offer middle and high school language arts teachers as well as English methods instructors.

Book Description
The selections in this anthology, General Introduction, and thoroughly researched biographical and critical introduction to each author and work, as well as footnotes, provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of the theme and literary value of each novel. This format offers an opportunity to see the texts in relation to each other as well as to the broad sweep of American literary history. KEY TOPICS Twelve complete novels include Malaeska, Ragged Dick, Anne of Green Gables, All American, Seventeenth Summer, The Outsiders, A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, The Chocolate War, Forever, Homecoming, Hatchet, and Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida. This coming-of-age literature encourages the reading and enjoyment of young adult literature—offering profound social and psychological exploration, and the realization that today's teens are not alone in their struggles.For adolescent readers—and an appreciation of the literature that represents the significant situations, themes, and emotions shared by youths from diverse families and subcultures. ... Read more

Book Description
Books written for children or teens can serve as a valuable teaching tool for language attractive illustrations and easy vocabulary deal with familiar situations, so that language is acquired easily and the students maintain a high degree of interest. Book Bridges is a complete teaching resource, replete with activities, suggested materials for classroom use, and lesson plans. Reid has carefully reviewed and recommended dozens of audience-appropriate books, for which she provides practice exercises and thought-provoking assignments. Lesson plans address the needs of an entire class or can be tailored for the small group or individual tutoring session. Every teacher needs this guide in his or her teacher's toolbox! ... Read more

Book Description
Young readers, teachers, and professionals in the field of young adult literature will find this survey and literary analysis of Virginia Euwer Wolff's books useful in their work and valuable as an aid to thoughtful reading. This text provides a literary and/or cultural context for each of Wolff's novels for young people, discusses the characters in terms of the plot and style, analyzes particularly literary elements as appropriate, and summarizes critical response. The point of each chapter is to attract readers and enrich their experience of each work. ... Read more

Book Description
Compiled by two experienced librarians, Across Cultures introduces you to more than 400 recent fiction and nonfiction multicultural resources for preschool through grade 6 and encourages you to make literature about diversity an integral part of your program of instruction. Arranged in thematic groupings (Identity and Self-Image, Family and Friends, Traditions, Exploring the Past in Diverse Communities, for example), this lively volume links diverse peoples, themes, and issues. It presents both annotations and practical advice on programming strategies. Connections are made to projects, graphic organizers, and activities. Full bibliographic information is given for each resource, along with a suggested use level. Important awards are also mentioned. Appendixes look at Literature Circles and Parent/Child Book Discussions, and there are indexes by culture, author, illustrator, title, and subject. ... Read more

Book Description
This book analyzes American Indian characters and themes in young adult literature, outlining plots and evaluating content from a native perspective. Teachers, librarians, parents, and young adult readers seeking information about American Indian-themed literature for young adults will want to consult this resource. It points out works that foster misinformation and stereotypes, but examines the growing number of authors that counteract such messages as well. The book also includes a bibliography that will lead audiences to further reading. ... Read more

Book Description

[Teasley and Wilder] have given the profession an invaluable, much-needed guide.
- NCETA Notes

From its beginnings, cinema has forged a distinct medium, a literature in its own right, as worthy of study as print literature. A good film, like a good book or poem, can delight, provoke the imagination, inspire serious though, discussion, and writing. Perhaps especially today, film can and should be an essential component in the language arts curriculum, given students' increasing reliance on visual imagery in defining their world.

In Reel Conversations, Alan Teasley and Ann Wilder discuss and demonstrate the powerful role film can play in the language arts classroom, both as a subject in itself and as a key dimension of language study. Reel Conversations provides middle and high school teachers with proven methods for teaching with and about films in conjunction with literature and composition classes. It describes techniques for instruction, details over two hundred films appropriate for classroom use, and offers a corresponding list of young adult novels. Samples of student writing in response to selected films are also provided.

Teasley and Wilder make clear the connections between the study of film and print literature. The units have been classroom tested over years and are designed for teachers who regularly use film, as well as those who are new to its uses.

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent resource for secondary teachers
I received this book from Amazon yesterday afternoon and just finished reading it. It's not long, but I did skip through a number of sections where films were listed and described.

Having just completed a dissertation about the use of film in the classroom--although I found what was said in this book to be consistent with the literature and my own study findings--I subtracted a star for three missing pieces: lack of an index, more information about the logistics of showing a film (invaluable for teachers for whom this is a new activity), and more of a research base to address "why do this and not that." A further review of their references indicates that a basis for Teasley and Wilder's approach exists, but isn't used sufficiently for justification of their recommended methods.

For example, there are a lot of explanations made about appropriateness of a film to the audience which translates to development. Just a few references to pertinent developmental psych (or even cognitive, educational psych, or human development) would have been useful to explain not just "what" but "why." Although they do mention "deep structure" in their explanation of genre, they do not link it to the characteristics they ask learners to look for in genre films.

There are a number of good references included, but many more are missing. For teachers disinterested in this type of information, it might be included in one chapter that could be skipped. That would add significantly to the book's sparse theoretical foundation and make it equally useful for academics and researchers as well as practitioners.

Other research areas germane to learner response to film, for example, are the function of "mirror neurons" in terms of character identification and empathy, and a study by Israeli neuroscientists indicating that there is no consistency between participant brain scans while viewing a feature film, EXCEPT when they're watching faces, places, and hands--all external stimuli. (This research--the only of its kind--discusses what's actually going on in people's brains when they are watching film.) Nor did the authors directly address learners' worldviews and how they affect expectations, reactions, and the impact of films--which is huge.

I suppose I'm talking myself into writing a book to fill these gaps, aren't I? After having searched far and wide, there's very little available to help teachers both select and use film effectively. In our media-saturated society, it's a very good skill for teachers to develop, but one not as obvious or simple as might be assumed.

These criticisms aside, this book takes a leap forward in helping teachers who want joy and excitement--not to mention learning--to return to their classrooms. For anyone unconvinced how involved kids get with movies, just visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) forums. Kids are watching and discussing movies with or without responsible adult guidance. As educators, we're missing a huge opportunity here. This book--via highly practical and well-thought-out methods that are, in fact, based on theory--is an excellent start of a return to relevance in the classroom.

Wonderful!
As a teacher of film studies in high school, I have found this book to be an invaluable source.It is full of intelligent, comprehensive and workable plans for teaching all kinds of films.I recommend it highly.

A Fantastic Resource for Teachers!
This book is full of excellent suggestions on how to teach film to young adults and help students analyze what they're viewing.It provides a very workable strategy for using film in the classroom, as well as gives great suggestions on unique film titles to use with students.Any teacher wanting to use films in class should check out this book!

Excellent Teaching Tool!
This book is great for creating plans to teach film and media literacy to secondary school students. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (8)

The Meaning of Consuelo
The book The Meaning of Consuelo, by Judith Ortiz Cofer, is about a 1950's Puerto Rican family. In this time period "Americanization" comes to the island and changes many people lives. The main character Consuelo is a 14 year old girl and her younger sister Mili is about 11. These two girls live with there parents in Puerto Rico. There father works at the Golden Palms hotel in Puerto Rico and there mother is unemployed. This book is the story of Consuelo, a young girl trying to find her way in life. She has always been referred to as the smart sensible one while her sister is know as the risk taking, wild child.Consuelo is just trying to find her way in life and where she belongs in her family and in society. Consuelo's best friend is her cousin Patricio who is about the same age as Consuelo. They know each other better than anyone else and hoped that nothing would tear them apart.Consuelo has a large family with many aunts, uncles and cousins who she visits very often.

Consuelo's life at home seems to be going well until "la tragedia" as she likes to call it occurs. She can feel that a tragedy will be occurring within her family but she has no idea what. The main themes of this book are family and tragedy which will have a major effect on Consuelo and her actions. Her family goes through its up and down through the entire book. The tragedy hits hard and will force them family to make one of the biggest decisions ever.

In this book you learn about Consuelo's family, friends, interests and decisions. You will see the outcome of her choices and what she has to go through for her family. I liked this book because Consuelo and I are similar ages. I can relate to the decisions that someone of that age is forced to make and consequences of the actions that one must deal with. Now is also the time that I am trying to find my way in life and seeing how someone else found there way helps.

From reading this book I have learned that all families go through problems big or small. At the end of the day, your family is still your family and will always be there to help you. Without a strong family to support you, you won't be able to make it in life and its as simple as that.

I would recommend this book because anyone can relate to Consuelo, male or female, 14 years old or 60 years old. Everyone can find similarities to Consuelo and her struggles. She is such a strong person and anyone can admire that.

Great story about growing up in PR!
Well the title just about says it all but yes it is a great novel about growing up and maturing in PR. Its different from History books in that it touches real life issues and themes from a first-hand basis such as homosexuality, losing virginity, leaving home, family tragedy, pressures and responsibilities. These are just some of the themes which Consuelo, the main character, deals with; there are plenty more. Very enjoyable and easy to read.

Everyone should read this book....
This book is beautifully written and engrosses you in the story as if you WERE Consuelo. The bond between the sisters in this story is incredible, as is the universal of growing up, becoming a woman and emotionally moving away from one's parents. Without giving away the story, this is a must read, and is one of the most incredible books I have read in many, many years.

Sad but triumphant
Consuelo has always been the responsible one, the one who takes care of her little sister, Mili.Mili is the pretty one, the vivacious one, but she also tends to wander off or to get lost in her own head.As a child these traits were charming, but as she grows into a young woman they become more worrisome, until the family is forced to confront the fact that Mili is mentally ill.

This is a great story of how mental illness in a family affects every member, and how a child who isn't sick is often shuffled to the side.I like that this book acknowledged that fact, while not going too over the top with Consuelo's character.Her rebellions were relatively small and harmless and she never stopped loving her sister throughout her ordeal.

I didn't like the ending; I felt as though the author took the easy way out instead of trying to figure out what the next step in this family's saga would be.However, she did give plenty of advance notice that it was coming, so at least I was not caught completely off guard by the end.

A good read, especiallyfor young people
The Meaning of Consuelo is not only well-written and vivid, the author manages to weave in so many things into a relatively short book. The book deals with coming of age for a young girl, a family's attempt to deal with mental illness, the difficulty of modernization, sexual identity both for heterosexuals and homosexuals, how society treats difference, and wrap it all up in the richness of Puerto Rican culture. A great book for students. ... Read more

Book Description
Angela Johnson is a three-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Author award, the Prinz prize, a MacArthur Foundation genius award, and numerous other book awards. She is the author of 40 books including picture books, middle school text books, poetry books, and young adult novels. This book introduces Johnson's work, illuminating its nuances through research and interviews and correspondence with Johnson. It provides readers with a detailed literary analysis of each work, with an emphasis on cultural insights and connections to African American literary history as well as a summation of published criticism of her work. ... Read more

Book Description
This practical book is a great resource for teachers who want to engage their students with young adult literature. The author presents in-depth, instructional units centered on historical conflicts and texts that will help students to better understand other cultures and time periods. An array of active learning strategies place students close to the featured novel or memoir while meeting standards and addressing a broad range of critical thinking skills. Historical themes center on: the Depression; Mexican American migrant farm workers; children during the Holocaust; the internment of the Japanese during WWII; the Japanese occupation of Korea; the U.S. Civil Rights Movement; the experience of U.S. soldiers and children affected by the Vietnam War.

Book Features:
* Depictions of active learning in the English classroom, including many examples of student work with accompanying photos, web pages, and more.
* A variety of adaptable assignments designed to promote empathy and deepen students' awareness of the world around them.
* Young adult literature that has proven to be of interest to students and relevant to their lives. ... Read more

Book Description

I highly recommend Monseau's Responding to Young Adult Literature . . .[It offers] inspiration and ideas for the challenging and important goal of promoting a love of reading.

- English Journal

For too long, there has been a stigma attached to young adult literature: the assumption that because it appeals to adolescents, it can't possibly be worthy of a place in the language arts curriculum. Attempts to legitimize the genre, furthermore, have concentrated only on the literature, not on how readers respond to it.

In Responding to Young Adult Literature, Virginia Monseau uncovers the power of young adult literature to evoke the kind of literary experiences that will keep students reading and lead them to a deeper understanding of literature in general and the relationship between literature and life in particular. The book serves two purposes: to describe and discuss the oral and written response of adolescents and adults to young adult literature; and to explore the significance of this knowledge to the study of literature in the classroom.

Many of the books and articles written about student response to literature focus on techniques or methods that teachers can use to evoke response. In this book, Monseau concentrates on the readers themselves. What would happen if advanced students, who might consider young adult literature beneath them, read this literature in their classes? What would occur if reluctant readers and advanced students got together to respond to a young adult novel? How do adolescent readers respond to the kinds of young adult literature that they read for enjoyment? Can this out-of class response inform literary study in the classroom?

As someone who has read, taught, and written about young adult literature extensively, Monseau can help other teachers better understand what happens when the reader meets the text.

Book Description
This book provides librarians, educators, and parents with the information they need to recognize the different kinds of young adult fiction available for boys. These books can then be suggested to young men as aids in navigating adolescence, pleasure (or free reading assignment) reading, and tools to improve literacy. The annotated bibliographies are helpful to young adults looking for a good read. ... Read more