Introduction
CHAPTER 1: How do I build a brave and supportive reading and
writing community?
CHAPTER 2: How do I cultivate motivation in an ELA classroom?
CHAPTER 3: How Can I Ensure That My Feedback and Assessment Are
Both as Efficient, Effective, and Equitable As Possible?
CHAPTER 4: What does strong ELA instruction look like?
CHAPTER 5: How can I keep doing this for my whole career?
References
Matthew Johnson is an English teacher from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He
is also a husband and father, and over the last decade he has read,
thought, and written about how teachers can balance teaching with
all of the other important roles they play in their lives. His work
has been published by Principal Leadership, Edutopia, ASCD, The
National Writing Project, and the National Council of Teachers of
English, and his weekly thoughts on how to be a better teacher of
writing in less time can be found on his website
www.matthewmjohnson.com. When not teaching, reading, or writing, he
can often be found in the kitchen, his garden, or out on a run
through the gently rolling hills of Southeast Michigan.
Matt Kay teaches kids at Science Leadership Academy in
Philadelphia, PA. He currently teaches 9th and 10th graders
English, and has taught elective courses in Drama, Critical Race
Theory, and African American Literature. He’s also been an athletic
director and is currently both the head varsity basketball coach
and an assistant football coach. He is the author of Not Light, But
Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom
(2018). Finally, he’s the executive director of the Philly Slam
League, a non-profit that shows Philly-area young people the power
of their voices through weekly spoken word competitions.
Dave Stuart Jr. is a husband and father who teaches high school in
Cedar Springs, MI. His blog, DaveStuartJr.com, is read by over
50,000 educators each month, and his bestselling These 6 Things:
How to Focus Your Teaching on What Matters Most has been cherished
by teachers and leaders around the world. Dave is also an
accomplished creator of professional development experiences,
having led hundreds of impactful experiences for teachers in every
US state and multiple countries abroad.
Every new professional needs a mentor, and beginning teachers
benefit from the kind veteran teacher down the hall. Johnson, Kay,
and Stuart give us just that: the helpful voices of wisdom and
experience. They welcome us into the best professional
conversations with each other and leaders like Penny Kittle and
Thomas Newkirk.
Their advice is sound. John Hattie’s research provides the
underpinning, and the authors show how to set up and run classrooms
truly responsive to students.
Their advice is so practical! They offer multiple techniques, such
as many ways to quote students in your classroom and how to
leverage the grading load.
Best and most rare of all, their advice models learning. Pointing
us toward online sources like the Cult of Pedagogy and the National
Writing Project, they share how they have evolved as teachers, even
creating language (buzzwordified!) and crackling the prose with
concepts like literacy evangelism.
If I can’t teach down the hall from these three, this book is the
next best thing.
*Teacher, Consultant, and Author*
Johnson, Kay, and Stuart are asking great questions that will lead
to life-giving, sustainable ELA teaching and learning. The
practices they describe in their own rooms leap off the page
because of their authenticity and dynamic delivery. We need more
books like this by teachers who love students and have a passion
for building our profession by inviting others into their classroom
practices in ways that allow educators and students to
flourish.
*Author of Leading Together: Teachers and Administrators Improving
Student Outcomes*
Reading this book is like having three experienced mentors give you
all the answers on the ELA teacher test! If you are looking for
teaching moves, engaging assignments, and resources to cultivate a
true learning community, get ready to be inspired. Truly a gift for
early-career teachers looking for ideas, midcareer teachers who
need a boost, and veteran teachers who are ready to be refreshed.
Johnson, Kay, and Stuart shine a united voice of optimism on
teaching in today’s classrooms.
*Author of Teaching With Light: Ten Lessons for Finding Wisdom,
Balance, and Inspiration; Mentoring in Action: Guiding, Sharing,
and Reflecting With Novice Teachers; and The First Years Matter:
Becoming an Effective Teacher*
Matthew Johnson, Matthew Kay, and Dave Stuart have hit a home run
with their new book Answers to Your Biggest Questions About
Teaching Middle and High School ELA. Their practical suggestions
for cultivating classroom community and instructional ideas are
valuable for not only the novice educator, but the seasoned one as
well. I found myself thinking of ways I could use their suggestions
in my own university literacy teaching! This trio has crafted a
text that ELA folks will want to keep on their desk so they can
quickly reference these easy-to-implement classroom ideas.
*Author of Write Now and Write On, Grades 6–12*
Johnson, Kay, and Stuart have written a book to help navigate the
burning questions early-career teachers long to understand. From
ways to build a community of learners to motivational instruction
to feedback that works for students and teachers alike, these
inspirational teachers share what it takes to craft a career for
the long haul.
*Coauthor of Creating Confident Writers: For High School, College,
and Life*
Matthew Johnson, Matthew R. Kay’s, and Dave Stuart Jr. book Answers
to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Middle and High School ELA
is an excellent resource for teachers looking to implement best
practices in classrooms immediately. New teachers will find
inspiration and resources as they plan and implement ELA curriculum
in both the middle and high school English classroom. Johnson, Kay,
and Stuart detail common challenges in the ELA classroom and
provide practical strategies and solutions for the new and
experienced teacher.
*English Teacher, Nationally Board Certified Teacher (NBCT)*
Johnson, Kay, and Stuart have written a book that would seem to
answer every question I asked myself in the last year. They not
only answer the questions with immediately useful suggestions one
could apply to their class on the spot, but they also offer
responses that are grounded as much in research as they are in
optimism and joy. Though they began this book with beginning
teachers in mind, they realized, as we all have in the last few
years, that we are all new teachers who need the wisdom and
practical strategies these three generous teachers offer us to do
our job. My wife and I, because of the overwhelming demands of our
personal and professional lives in the last few years, started
getting one of those meal kits
delivered a couple of days a week. I was reminded of those kits and
how much they have helped us be a bit more healthy and balanced as
I read Answers to Your Biggest Questions, which Johnson, Kay, and
Stuart would no doubt appreciate, for in their introduction, they
say we should use and think of their book "as a serious cook uses a
new cookbook." This book will help any teacher cook up lessons that
are as consistently delicious as they are healthy—both for students
and their teachers.
*English Teacher, Middle College High School and Author of The
Common Core Companion series*
Under the weight of overwhelming expectations and intimidating
systems of power, ELA teachers can ease their heavy load by
hitching up with Johnson, Kay, and Stuart. From each of their
unique teacher zones, the authors provide do-able options—rather
than do-it-all presumptions—to help teachers strengthen learning
communities with empathy, engagement, and equity. Answers to Your
Biggest Questions offers a hope, clarity, and practicality needed
to make this work lighter and brighter.
*Author of The Good Enough Teacher*
In Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Middle and High
School ELA, three great yet distinctive teachers have put together
a book that hits that rare balance of big-picture inspiration and
down-home practical advice. Matthew Johnson, Matthew Kay, and Dave
Stuart make their teaching visible in a way that will work both for
early-career teachers and (as Matthew writes) "anyone who wants to
be new." Most importantly, they keep it real: real questions, real
dilemmas, and real responses full of options and activities. ELA
teachers will want to keep this one close at hand.
*Executive Director, National Writing Project*
Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Middle and High
School ELA pools together the extensive classroom experience of
Matthew Johnson, Matthew R. Kay, and Dave Stuart Jr. There are
moments from their classrooms, their best strategies, and their
favorite resources, all contextualized by powerful mental framing
to help teachers of English language arts narrow their focus, work
more efficiently, and make sure our valuable minutes with students
move them forward as learners. Open up the book to any page, and
you’ll find something you can use now—for example, my students have
already considered the authors’ meaningful list of five reasons to
read. This book will invite you to imagine better possibilities for
you and your students.
*High School Language Arts Teacher, Instructional Coach, and Author
of Point-Less: An English Teacher’s Guide to More Meaningful
Grading*
Johnson, Kay, and Stuart are three of the best writers, sharpest
thinkers, and kindest humans in our profession. These are the
mentors every teacher should have! Written in engaging, heartfelt
prose, Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Middle and
High School ELA rings with teacher truths on every page. This book
is a gift not only to new teachers but to all of us seeking a
renewed commitment to our life’s work.
*Author of Teaching Arguments (2015), Teaching Literature
Rhetorically (2018), and Writing Rhetorically (2021)*
As a former high school English teacher, this book is the book I
wish I had. As a high school principal, this is the book I will
make sure is in the hands of every English and Language Arts
teacher in my school. It is a thoughtful, practical and kind text
that will help teachers build a student-centered English classroom
with a culture of reading and writing that will help students years
after they leave its walls.
*Founding Principal—Science Leadership Academy Coauthor of Building
School 2.0*
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
