Integrated Literacy Instruction in the Middle Grades: Channeling Young Adolescents' Spontaneous Overflow of Energy

This book presents both a theoretical framework and classroom-tested ideas for literacy instruction in middle schools. Equally suitable for middle school courses as well as for in-service training, this concise yet comprehensive text is divided into two parts―Part I introduces students to 8 principles/concerns that are at the forefront of middle school students' minds and Part II includes applications for Literacy Instruction and Learning in the Middle Grades Reading/LA classes, providing teaching ideas, instructional strategies, and suggestions for assessment, evaluation and grading. This text gives one new insight for the potential for literacy instruction in today's middle schools and the need to understand the many questions and concerns that pre-service and practicing teachers have as they teach in those schools. This text is loaded with theoretically-sound ideas for building student-sensitive literacy curricula.

Integrated Literacy Instruction in the Middle Grades: Channeling Young Adolescents' Spontaneous Overflow of Energy, 1/e by Pamela Sissi Carroll

Taking a novel approach to middle school instruction, Carroll believes that teachers can learn to take advantage of adolescents' spontaneous overflow of energy as language users. She provides direction for pre-service and practicing teachers who want to balance the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual characteristics of today's young adolescents with an academically challenging, standards-linked, student-sensitive curriculum.

Features:

• Vignettes throughout the text illuminate the nature of an integrated literacy curriculum and pedagogy, offering authentic comments from beginning and veteran teachers, as well as middle school students in order to enhance discussions of literacy pedagogy.
• Addresses the leading theories and best practices in these aspects of the discipline: reading, literature, writing, speaking/listening/language, media, and interdisciplinary possibilities through literacy-based lessons.
• Discusses methods for planning, implementing, and evaluating instruction and strategies for assessing and measuring students' literacy learning in each of the core chapters.
• Provides an integrated literacy checklist, detailing how activities in each core chapter address and support an integrated literacy curriculum.
• NCTE/IRA standards chart helps teachers determine how to use the activities in each core chapter while addressing national standards (with implications for state standards, as well).
• Each core chapter highlights the activities that are particularly helpful for English language learners, and bulleted points show where specific literacy skills are integrated in the activities.
• Various lesson sample boxes provide readers with very specific "how-to" instructions and examples.

Spontaneous Overflow is very readable. The tone is warm and friendly towards students...The authors' common sense approach to working with middle school students is refreshing.
Dr. Ellyn Arwood, University of Portland

The author did a good job of getting 'into the heads' of middle school students especially in terms of the literacy demands being placed on them...I enjoyed Carroll'sfriendly style and consistent tone throughout her work.
Professor Gail A. Bauman, Florida A&M University

I like that Spontaneous Overflow makes real teaching seem possible within the standards and the integrated literacy framework.
Professor Alexandra G. Leavell, University of North Texas

Author Bio:

While spending over twenty years with adolescents, their teachers, and future teachers in school settings, Pamela Sissi Carroll has developed an approach to teaching the language arts that foregrounds the teacher's knowledge and understanding of multiple literacies, and is supported by a spirit of enthusiasm and compassion for working with young adoelscents. Her publications include CAROLINE COONEY: FAITH AND FICTION (Scarecrow, 2001), USING LITERATURE TO HELP TEENAGERS COPE WITH SOCIETAL ISSUES (Ed.) (Greenwood, 1999), and BOOKS AND BEYOND: THEMATIC APPROACHES FOR TEACHING LITERATURE IN HIGH SCHOOLS (co-authored with Gail P. Gregg) (Christopher-Gordon, 1998), an upcoming book about the realities of student teaching in secondary English/language arts, co-written with Michael Rychlik (Heinemann, scheduled for publication in 2003), and numerous articles and chapters on aspects of teaching middle and high school English.language arts, with a focus on literature for adolescents. She served as Editor of THE ALAN REVIEW from fall, 1998 through the spring of 2003.