3rd Edition
Teaching to Exceed in the English Language Arts A Justice, Inquiry, and Action Approach for 6-12 Classrooms
Timely, thoughtful, and comprehensive, this text directly supports pre-service and in-service teachers in developing curriculum and instruction that both addresses and exceeds the requirements of English language arts standards. It demonstrates how the Common Core State Standards as well as other local and national standards’ highest and best intentions for student success can be implemented from a critical, culturally relevant perspective firmly grounded in current literacy learning theory and research.
The third edition frames ELA instruction around adopting a justice, inquiry, and action approach that supports students in their schools and community contexts. Offering new ways to respond to current issues and events, the text provides specific examples of teachers employing the justice, inquiry, and action curriculum framework to promote critical engagement and learning. Chapters cover common problems and challenges, alternative models, and theories of language arts teaching. The framework, knowledge, and guidance in this book shows how ELA standards can not only be addressed but also surpassed through engaging instruction to foster truly diverse and inclusive classrooms.
The third edition provides new material on:
- adopting a justice, inquiry, and action approach to enhance student engagement and critical thinking
- planning instruction to effectively implement standards in the classroom
- teaching literary and informational texts, with a focus on authors of color
- integrating drama activities into literature
- teaching informational, explanatory, argumentative, and narrative writing
- supporting bilingual/ELL students
- using digital tools and apps to respond to and create digital texts
- addressing how larger contextual and political factors shape instruction
- fostering preservice teacher development
Section I. Theoretical Frameworks/foundations of English Language Arts Instruction
1. Justice, Inquiry, Action
2. Planning English Language Arts Instruction
3. Contexts, Standards, and Teacher Freedom
Section II. Implementing and Exceeding the ELA State Standards
4. Teaching Literature
5. Teaching Nonfiction
6. Teaching Writing
7. Writing and Enacting Narratives, Drama, and Poetry
8. Implementing Digital/Media Literacy Standards
9. Implementing Speaking and Listening Standards
10. Implementing Language Standards
Section III: Evaluation, Assessment, and Reflection
12. Assessing Students’ Work
13. Fostering Teacher Reflection and Professional Development
Biography
Richard Beach is Professor Emeritus of English Education at the University of Minnesota, USA.
Ashley S. Boyd is Associate Professor of English at Washington State University, USA.
Allen Webb is Professor of English Education and Postcolonial Studies at Western Michigan University, USA.
Amanda Haertling Thein is Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Education, Dean of the Graduate College, and Professor of English Education at the University of Iowa, USA.
"Teaching to Exceed—the book and wiki website—explores everything a new ELA teacher needs to know about lesson and unit planning focused on reading, writing, drama, language, multimedia, and poetry. It does so in ways that are of consequence by engaging with larger contextual and political factors like the Black Lives Matter movement, a global pandemic, and climate change. Ultimately it is its comprehensiveness combined with its commitment to racial, linguistic, and class diversity, as it takes shape in its justice, inquiry, and action framework, that makes this book stand out among resources for preservice ELA teachers."
—Mollie Blackburn, The Ohio State University, USA
"This timely and thoughtful new edition provides a strong foundation for excellence in today’s ELA classrooms for pre-service and in-service teachers. It combines the best of what we have learned in the field about implementing standards-driven pedagogy with innovative new directions, including the use of digital tools, promoting a justice and inquiry framework, adding supports for multilingual learners and much more. It is a must-have resource for English educators"
—Ernest Morrell, University of Notre Dame, USA
