Bridging English

by Milner, Joseph O.; Milner, Lucy F.

• ISBN13: 9780130453068
• ISBN10: 0130453064
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

The third edition of this popular book again takes a balanced, comprehensive approach to teaching English-one that creates a bridge between theory/background and practices that reflect today's diverse, challenging high school classrooms. This book has been praised for its unique components: discussion of ";four stages"; of reading texts and ";three phases"; of teaching texts. The authors' many years of experience teaching English are obvious throughout the material, but nowhere more so than in their straightforward presentation of organization and planning for instruction and their firm stand on teaching grammar. This book covers the challenging and the controversial in English instruction and explores censorship, national standards, high-stakes testing, multi-lingual students, and multicultural literature. For professionals in the field of teaching.

Table of Contents

Envisioning English	1	(13)
Initial Definitions	2	(1)
A Brief History	2	(2)
Core Beliefs	4	(7)
Bridging English	6	(1)
Importance of Core Beliefs	7	(1)
Traditional Principles of Learning	7	(1)
Alternative Beliefs About Learning, Learners, and Teaching	8	(2)
Student-Centered Mnemonics	10	(1)
Individual Decisions	11	(1)
Conclusion	11	(2)
Organizing Instruction	13	(33)
Lecture	14	(3)
Four Types of Lecture	14	(1)
Four Rhetorical Strategies	15	(1)
Lecture's Critics	16	(1)
Lecture's Best Exemplars	16	(1)
Whole-Class Discussion	17	(9)
Dimensions of Whole-Class Discussion	18	(1)
Reform of Discussion	19	(3)
Questions	22	(3)
Responses	25	(1)
Group Work	26	(7)
Collaborative Learning	26	(1)
Practical Decisions About Groupwork	27	(3)
Literature Circles	30	(2)
A Final Pitch for Groupwork	32	(1)
Individual Work	33	(2)
Independent Study	33	(1)
Workshop/Conference	34	(1)
Individualized Instruction	34	(1)
Layering the Four Approaches	35	(3)
Learning Stations	35	(3)
Learning With Technology	38	(7)
Technology in U.S. Schools	40	(2)
Three Types of Technology Tools	42	(2)
National Technology Standards for Teachers and Students	44	(1)
Shaping Instruction	45	(1)
Conclusion	45	(1)
Centering on Language	46	(28)
Awakening and Broadening Language Consciousness	47	(7)
Language Inquiry in the Classroom	48	(2)
Doublespeak	50	(4)
The Story of the English Language	54	(1)
American English: 1620-Present	55	(1)
Our Mother Tongue	55	(1)
The Study of Language: Linguistics	55	(2)
Descriptive versus Prescriptive Grammar	56	(1)
Issues of Right and Wrong	56	(1)
Correct English	57	(1)
The Instructional Debate	57	(8)
The Linguistic Debate: Change versus Stability	58	(2)
The Political Debate: Cultural Diversity	60	(3)
The Psychological or Biological Debate: Language Acquisition	63	(1)
The Practical Debate: Research and Experience in Grammar Instruction	64	(1)
Language Instruction	65	(8)
Definitions of Grammar	66	(4)
Contextualized Grammar	70	(1)
Critical Grammar	71	(1)
Benchmarks for Evaluating Language Instruction	72	(1)
Conclusion	73	(1)
Developing an Oral Foundation	74	(24)
Classroom Talking and Listening	75	(3)
The Relationship of Talking, Thinking, Writing, and Learning	77	(1)
Oral Language Exercises	78	(6)
Activities: Individual to Group, Control to Release	79	(5)
Creative Drama	84	(8)
Content Goals	86	(1)
Personal Growth Goals	86	(1)
Rules of the Game	87	(1)
Resources	87	(1)
Creative Drama: Fixed to Free	88	(4)
Story Drama	92	(2)
Response and Critique	94	(1)
Step 1: Affirmation	94	(1)
Step 2: Artist as Questioner	94	(1)
Step 3: Responders as Questioners	94	(1)
Step 4: Opinion Time	94	(1)
Steps 5 and 6: Subject Matter Discussion and Working on the Work	94	(1)
Interviewing	95	(2)
Value Chat	95	(1)
Partner Probe	95	(1)
Expert Query	95	(1)
Retrospective Talk	96	(1)
Conclusion	97	(1)
Responding to Literature	98	(52)
Why Read Literature?	98	(3)
The Death of Literature	99	(1)
The Life of Literature	99	(1)
Goals and Methods for Teaching Literature	100	(1)
Three Phases of the Teaching Cycle	101	(3)
Enter	101	(1)
Explore	102	(1)
Extend	103	(1)
Four Stages of Reading Literature	104	(2)
Reader Response	105	(1)
Interpretive Community	105	(1)
Formal Analysis	105	(1)
Critical Synthesis	105	(1)
Instructional Strategies/Teaching Activities	106	(1)
Reader Response	106	(14)
Personal Triggers	107	(1)
Suppositional Readers	108	(1)
Conceptual Readiness	108	(1)
Synergistic Texts	109	(1)
Associative Recollections	110	(1)
Co-Creative Authors	111	(2)
Imagine This	113	(1)
Polar Appraisals	113	(1)
Character Continuum	113	(1)
Character Maps	114	(1)
Focal Judgments	115	(1)
Opinion Survey	116	(1)
Verbal Scales	117	(1)
Interrogative Reading	117	(1)
Jump Starts	118	(4)
The Testing	119	(1)
Interpretive Community	120	(8)
At the Point of Utterance	121	(1)
Proximate Reading	121	(1)
Communal Judgments	122	(1)
Defining Vignetters	122	(2)
Readers' Theater	124	(1)
Assaying Characters: Questions and Checklists	124	(1)
Psychological Profiles	125	(1)
Venn Diagramming	126	(2)
Formal Analysis	128	(10)
Basic Principles of Formal Analysis in the Classroom	128	(2)
Formal Discussion Questions	130	(2)
Literacy Rules to Notice	132	(2)
Intertextuality	134	(1)
Students Write	134	(1)
Authors Speak	135	(3)
Critical Synthesis	138	(9)
Early Critics and Eleven Critical Approaches to Literature	138	(9)
Classroom Strategies	147	(2)
A Plea for Pluralism	148	(1)
Conclusion	149	(1)
Celebrating Poetry	150	(39)
Finding Poetry	151	(8)
Nonliterary Prose	152	(2)
Music	154	(2)
Advertising	156	(1)
Bumper Stickers	157	(1)
Unexpected Places	158	(1)
Forging Poetry	159	(12)
Templates	161	(3)
Fixed Forms	164	(3)
Open Forms	167	(3)
Wild Cards	170	(1)
Reading Poetry	171	(9)
Definition	172	(1)
Choice	172	(1)
Personal Response	173	(2)
Enactment	175	(3)
Visualization	178	(1)
Synthesis	179	(1)
Talking Poetry	180	(5)
Adolescent Readers	180	(2)
Selecting Poems	182	(1)
Listening to Poems	182	(1)
Discussing Poems: Setting, Approaches, Questions, Sequences	183	(1)
Poets Talk	184	(1)
Placing Poetry	185	(3)
Conclusion	188	(1)
Opening Texts	189	(43)
The Classics	189	(4)
Historical Roots of the High School Canon	190	(1)
Texts in the High School Canon	190	(3)
The Canon Wars	193	(2)
Cultural Literacy	193	(1)
Teaching the Tradition	194	(1)
Renewing the Canon	194	(1)
Five Challenges to the Canon	195	(17)
Critical Literacy Challenge	195	(1)
Deconstructionist Challenge	196	(1)
Reader Response Challenge	197	(1)
Genre Challenge: Young Adult Fiction	198	(6)
Multicultural Challenge	204	(8)
Classroom Challenges in Teaching Noncanonical and Canonical Texts	212	(16)
Multicultural Literature in the Classroom	212	(7)
Expanding the Teaching of Literature	219	(9)
Censorship	228	(2)
Community Standards and School Policies	228	(1)
Allies	229	(1)
Conclusion	230	(2)
Understanding Drama	232	(11)
Transformating Texts	233	(1)
Ready-Made Plays	233	(1)
Student-Created Drama	233	(1)
Engaging Drama	234	(6)
Plot	234	(2)
Character	236	(3)
Theme	239	(1)
Form	240	(1)
Teaching Shakespeare	240	(2)
Performing Shakespeare	240	(1)
Seven Shakespearean Activities	241	(1)
Conclusion	242	(1)
Assaying Nonfiction	243	(21)
Why Teach Nonfiction?	244	(2)
Nonfiction Genres in the Classroom	246	(16)
Essays	246	(3)
Biographies	249	(3)
Autobiographies and Memoirs	252	(3)
Testimonials	255	(1)
Diaries and Journals	256	(1)
Letters	257	(1)
Miscellaneous Nonfiction Books	257	(5)
Newspapers	262	(1)
Nonfiction in the Fiction Classroom	262	(1)
Conclusion	262	(2)
Making Media Matter	264	(23)
Enact: Students as Producers	266	(4)
Juxtaworlds	266	(1)
Madison Avenue	267	(1)
Rock Review	268	(1)
Piggyback Pop	268	(1)
Jacketeering	268	(1)
Rock Market	268	(1)
Anchor People	268	(1)
Radio Head	268	(1)
Crisis Interview	269	(1)
Pilot Making	269	(1)
Class Magazine	269	(1)
Classy Comics	270	(1)
Bumper Stickers	270	(1)
Entertain: Students as Listeners and Viewers	270	(8)
Using Film	271	(2)
Using Music	273	(1)
Using Paintings, Prints, and Photographs	274	(1)
Using Comics	275	(1)
Developing Film Literacy	276	(1)
Locating Materials	277	(1)
Examine: Students as Anthropologists and Literary Critics	278	(6)
Examining the News	280	(1)
Examining Advertising	281	(1)
Scrubbing the Soaps	282	(1)
Analyzing Magazines	282	(1)
Examining Public Service Announcements	283	(1)
Analyzing Viewing Styles	283	(1)
Expose: Students as Social Critics	284	(2)
Do the Media Corrupt Cultural Morality or Mirror It?	284	(1)
Do the Media Falsify Expectations of Life or Create a Sense of Possibility?	285	(1)
Do the Media Reinforce Passivity or Promote Action?	285	(1)
Do the Media Undermine Critical Reasoning Capacity or Promote Thoughtful Reflection?	285	(1)
Do the Media Promote Consumerism or a Consumer Protection Mindset?	286	(1)
Conclusion	286	(1)
Inspiring Writing	287	(28)
Five Interlocking Writing Constructs	288	(2)
Developmental Tasks	290	(5)
Developmental Sequence	290	(5)
Process Model	295	(4)
Basic Assumptions	295	(2)
The Teacher's Role	297	(2)
Writing Workshops	299	(5)
Writing Workshop Principles	299	(1)
Writing Workshop Proper	299	(1)
Work of the Writing Workshop	300	(3)
Physical Arrangement and Workshop Rules	303	(1)
Research on Writing	303	(1)
Portfolio Work	304	(3)
Variety of Contents	305	(1)
Works in Progress	305	(1)
Student Responsibility	306	(1)
Accomplishments	307	(1)
Authentic Assessment	307	(7)
Writing Tasks Assessed, Writing Tasks Taught	307	(1)
State-Initiated, Performance-Based Assessment	308	(3)
Tied to Daily Instruction	311	(1)
Constructing Rubrics	311	(2)
Rubrics and the Paper Load	313	(1)
Conclusion	314	(1)
Enabling Writing	315	(38)
Four Basic Needs	316	(1)
Substance	316	(1)
Skills	316	(1)
Structure	316	(1)
Style	316	(1)
Mediated Instruction	317	(1)
Middle Ground	317	(1)
Hillocks's Lesson	318	(1)
Another Middle Way	318	(1)
Collaborative Writing	318	(3)
Cognitive Conflict	320	(1)
Verbalization	320	(1)
Benefits of Collaboration	320	(1)
Environmental Journalism	321	(2)
Foxfire's Lessons	321	(1)
Interviewing	322	(1)
Contemporary Excavations	323	(1)
Right Writing	323	(3)
Rico Clusters	323	(1)
Other Paths	324	(1)
Right-Left Continuum	325	(1)
Journal Writing	326	(3)
Write to Learn	329	(1)
Math and Science	329	(1)
Difficult Problems	330	(1)
Code Switching	330	(3)
Program Requirements	331	(1)
Switching Principles	331	(1)
Program Outline	332	(1)
Sentence Combining	333	(2)
Strong Kernels	333	(1)
Other Sources	334	(1)
Vocabulary Growth	335	(2)
Acquisition	335	(1)
Morphology	336	(1)
Immersion	336	(1)
Semantics	337	(1)
Student Research Papers	337	(3)
Controlled Sources Research	338	(1)
Textual Analysis	338	(1)
Historical Synthesis	338	(1)
Contemporary Issues Research	338	(1)
Scholarly Research	338	(1)
Fabulous Analysis	339	(1)
Elemental Variation	340	(2)
Topology Procedures	340	(1)
Evaluation	341	(1)
Lit. Write	342	(1)
Dependent Authors	343	(1)
Roles Around	343	(1)
Other Dependencies	344	(1)
Apprentice Writing	344	(4)
Copying (Duplicating Exact Tests)	345	(1)
Paraphrasing (Translating Passages)	345	(1)
Modeling (Employing a Template)	346	(1)
Imitating (Mimicking the Masters)	347	(1)
Practical Stylist	348	(1)
Three Style Books	348	(1)
Others	348	(1)
Summary of Research About Writing	349	(1)
Conclusion	350	(3)
Evaluating Learning	353	(45)
Standardized Tests	354	(2)
District- and State-Mandated Tests	354	(1)
Standardized Achievement Tests	355	(1)
Grading and Evaluation	356	(6)
Definition of Terms	358	(1)
Purposes of Evaluation	358	(1)
Learning Possibilities to Be Measured	359	(3)
Alternative Methods of Evaluation	362	(8)
Self-Evaluation	362	(3)
Portfolios	365	(2)
Contracts	367	(1)
Observation	367	(3)
Evaluating Knowledge and Response to Literature	370	(8)
Selected-Response (Objective)	371	(2)
Constructed-Response (Subjective)	373	(5)
Evaluating Writing	378	(11)
Outside the Classroom	378	(1)
Inside the Classroom	378	(11)
Evaluating Oracy	389	(1)
Alternative Grading Choices	390	(4)
Quantitative-Qualitative	391	(1)
Aware-Blind	391	(1)
Absolute-Relative	391	(1)
Objective-Subjective	391	(1)
Incidental-Cumulative	392	(1)
Holistic-Partial	392	(1)
Independent-Individual	392	(1)
Bound-Open	393	(1)
Formative-Summative	393	(1)
Cooperative-Competitive	393	(1)
Critique of Traditional Grading	394	(2)
Pedagogical Dangers	394	(1)
Psychometric Dangers	394	(1)
Personal Dangers	395	(1)
Cultural Dangers	395	(1)
Moral Dangers	395	(1)
Unique Difficulties for English Teachers	396	(1)
Conclusion	396	(2)
Planning the Lesson	398	(26)
Lesson Planning	399	(10)
Creative-Process Model	400	(2)
Conversation-Based Model	402	(3)
Objectives-Based Model	405	(2)
Content-Based Model	407	(2)
Unit Planning	409	(6)
Focused or Integrated Units	410	(1)
Topic Selection and Quality Control	410	(1)
Steps of Unit Development	411	(1)
Planning as a Recursive Process	412	(3)
Weekly Planning	415	(1)
Curriculum Planning	415	(1)
Variables in Any Planning	416	(2)
Students	416	(1)
Individualization Interaction, and Integration	416	(1)
Four Modes of Classroom Organization	417	(1)
Sequence, Variety, and Flexibility	417	(1)
A Common Danger	418	(1)
Writing Out the Lesson	418	(1)
Planning with Discipline and Inspiration	418	(1)
Constant Classroom Structures and Concerns	418	(5)
Routines and Emergencies	419	(1)
Motivation	419	(1)
Classroom Management	419	(1)
Assignments	420	(1)
Block Scheduling	420	(1)
Paper Load	421	(1)
Advice from Experienced Teachers	422	(1)
Learning from Mistakes	422	(1)
Conclusion	423	(1)
Becoming a Complete Teacher	424	(58)
Defining Yourself as a Teacher	424	(2)
Defining Yourself in a Professional Context	426	(3)
School Critics	427	(1)
Defining Yourself for Schools	428	(1)
Building Public Trust	429	(2)
Include	429	(1)
Inform	429	(1)
Involve	430	(1)
Promoting Professional Growth	431	(6)
Goal Setting	431	(1)
Self-Evaluation	432	(1)
Peer Review	432	(1)
External Assessment	433	(2)
Action Research	435	(1)
Guild Building	436	(1)
Association Membership	436	(1)
Professional Leadership	437	(1)
Conclusion	437	(2)
Appendix A
Possible Literature Lessons on Shakespeares Sonnet	439	(1)
Appendix B
Meiers' Independent Project for English: Collecting and Writing a Personal Anthology	440	(1)
Ten Textual Learning Stations: Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn	440	(2)
Four Topical Learning Stations: Utopia	442	(1)
Davis' Learning Centers: Family	443	(1)
Mapping Your Way to Understanding: Mythology	443	(1)
Ten Steps to Mythology Mapping	444	(1)
Appendix C
Overview of Old, Middle, and Modern English	445	(1)
Grammar in a Nutshell	445	(3)
Four Areas of Linguistic Study	448	(1)
Timeline of Methods of Linguistic Analysis	448	(1)
Appendix D
Web Sites for Classic and Contemporary Short Stories	449	(1)
Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development	449	(1)
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development	450	(1)
Loevinger's Stages of Ego Development	450	(1)
Rabinowitz's Rules of Notice	450	(2)
Appendix E
U. S. Poet Laureates, 1937-2001	452	(1)
Becky Brown's Favorite Poems for Student Responses	452	(3)
Brown's Poetry Response Assignment, 1991-1992	455	(1)
Brown's Explanation of Her Poetry Assignment's Evolution	455	(1)
Brown's Poetry Response Assignment, 2001-2002	456	(1)
Books on Poetry and Poetry Teaching	456	(1)
Appendix F
Works Listed on AP English Literature Open-Ended Questions, 1981-2001	457	(2)
Authors Listed on AP English Literature Exam 1993-2001	459	(1)
Reader Response Resources	460	(1)
Fiction by Women	461	(1)
African American Writers	462	(2)
Native American Writers	464	(1)
Hispanic Writers	464	(1)
Asian American Writers	465	(1)
Benedict's Recommendations: Young Adult Fiction	465	(2)
Benedict's Recommendations: Modern Interpretations and Retellings	467	(1)
Works on Censorship	467	(2)
Appendix G
Smith's Guide for Making Movies in the Classroom	469	(1)
Media Sources	469	(1)
Multiple Film Versions of Hamlet and Jane Eyre	470	(1)
Teasley and Wilder's 100 Great Films for Adolescents: Annotated Filmography	470	(2)
Appendix H
Recommended Writing Textbooks	472	(1)
Appendix I
Sat Essay Exam Assessment: Diederich Scale	473	(1)
Oral Communications Activities Log	474	(1)
Two Communication Inventories	474	(1)
Evaluation Form for Group Discussion	475	(1)
Explanation of Ratings Used for the Evaluation Form for Group Discussion	475	(1)
Teachers Evaluation of Announcements	476	(1)
Appendix J
Developing a Unit: William Shakespeare	477	(1)
Four Perspectives on Language Learning	478	(2)
Appendix K
NCTE Organizations and Periodicals for the English Teacher	480	(1)
Educational Periodicals Recommended for English Teachers	480	(2)
References	482	(21)
Index	503

Excerpts

We wrote the first edition ofBridging English(1993) because we could not find a balanced, comprehensive English methods textbook whose theory was rigorous and whose practice was accessible and pertinent. We revised the first edition (1999) to strengthen its comprehensiveness, theoretical soundness, and practical usefulness. Reviewers and users report that both texts effectively moved readers from theories of learning, language, and literacy to classroom realities in today's schools. One colleague and his class call our textBEbecause, as he explains, it captures what his students need to know and be in order to confidently enter secondary English classrooms and actively engage the students waiting there. Its readers appear also drawn to its student-centered, constructivist, developmental, inquiry based, and reflective perspective. Many colleagues report that this is one textbook their students do not sell back because they regard it not simply as a general introduction to English education, but as a reference and resource with which to begin their professional libraries. Many teachers tell us that it occupies an honored spot on their desks always ready for use. We have revised the second edition of our text, as we did the first, for two primary reasons: 1) to address new developments in the field of English education, and 2) to clarify, expand, and vivify many of our original ideas. In this thorough revision, we have tried to retain and strengthen what has proven most valuable while we demonstrate and animate both the old and new ideas and methods. In clearer, crisper prose, each of its now fifteen chapters presents conceptual frameworks, a multitude of tested teaching activities, and invitations to the reader to reflect on both. STRENGTHS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS In the first two editions ofBridging English,we attempted to bridge many different shores: of self (as the reader prepares to move from the role of student to that of teacher), of instructional theories, of methods, of texts, of cultural expectations of English classrooms. With a consciousness of the quandaries of prospective teachers, we challenged readers to make personal connections between their previous experiences as students and their future expectations as teachers. Two textual features particularly--Invitations to Reflection and Teaching Activities--engaged readers and invited them to reflect, to test, and to plan. Readers tell us that the texts' breadth and balance "brought it all together"-an understanding and grasp of literature, language, and learning. We have retained many of the valued aspects of the first two editions such as: the interplay of learning, language, and literary theory with best teaching practice the numerous sequences of instruction, teaching activities, and concrete examples of teachable texts that range from literary classics to works by minority and young adult writers, from print to non-print a balanced view of the debated pedagogical issues in the English Education field: grammar and writing instruction, cooperative learning, reader response based approaches to literature, multicultural literature, technology in the classroom, authentic assessment, and critical and cultural literacy the treatment of numerous vital, but sometimes overlooked subjects such as the history of the English language, ten schools of literary criticism, the canon wars' debate, oral language, poetry, nonfiction, media, and evaluation an authorial voice that filters and interprets its information and ideas through decades of teaching at the secondary and college levels CHANGES IN THE THIRD EDITION Like its predecessors, the third edition ofBridging Englishgrows from our ongoing experience, observations, and reflections on English classrooms. It represents our course notes passed on to our younger colleagues. We feel again a