Teaching Literature

american literature	british literature	multicultural/women's/world literature	lesson plans/course syllabi	drama/speech	shakespeare	young adult literature	literary genres/mythology
nonfiction	poetry	critical lenses	story response/writing	assessment	censorship	professional development	media/technology


	How to use this site
CHAPTERS
1	Goals for teaching literature: What does it mean to teach literature?
2	Understanding students’ individual differences: Who are our kids?
3	Planning and Organizing Literature Instruction: How Do I Decide What to Teach?
4	Using Drama to Foster Interpretation: How Can I Help Students Read Better?
5	Leading Classroom Discussions of Literature: How Do I Get Them to Talk about Literature?
6	Writing about literature: How do I get them to write about literature?
7	Using narratives in the classroom: What’s the use of story?
8	Teaching text and task-specific strategies: How does the shape of a text change the shape of my teaching?
9	Teaching the Classics: Do I Have To Teach the Canon, And If So, How Do I Do It?
10	Multiple Perspectives to Engage Students with Literature: What are Different Ways of Seeing?
11	Teaching Media Literacy: What else is a text and how do I teach it?
12	Assessing and Evaluating Students’ Learning: How do I know what they’ve learned?
13	Text Selection, Censorship, Creating an Ethical Classroom Environment. and Teacher Professionalism: How do I Stay in Control, Out of Trouble, and Continue to Develop as A Teacher?

	home

Professional Development

Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals
click on “Services” and then “Job Opportunities”
job search/placement office resources
Student and Professional Services (SPS), University of Minnesota; links to résumé writing/placement office information
Praxis II tests registration deadlines
Ed Jobs U Seek: on-line job listing at SPS
assessment criteria for evaluating student teaching
PDF files: evaluation criteria for use by supervisors and your self-evaluation during student teaching
MN Standards of Effective Practice for Teachers
Standards for self-evaluation of your student teaching
Student and Professional Services
links to forms, petitions, services, advising
University of Minnesota portfolio template
e-portfolio template supported by the U
Minnesota Graduation Standards
Minnesota Council of Teachers of English
National Council of Teachers of English
electronic portfolio template supported by MNSCU
e-folio template for use in job search

Censorship

ACLU: Censorship

ACLU: Students’ Rights

Thomas Jefferson Center for Freedom of Expression

ALA Freedom to Read Statement
a list of 7 reasons why the freedom to read is important

lots of links related to strategies for fighting censorship
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Bette Greene: on academic freedom at an Arkansas university
author of Summer of My German Soldier

Middle Schoolers and the Right to Read

Censorship case: I Am the Cheese

Creating a Censorship Simulation
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

study: high school students’ reading interests

Rationales for Commonly Challenged Books

Most challenged books: 1990s: The Bluest Eye #34

Censorship Matters: mention of The Bluest Eye

NEA: Academic Freedom: Court Ruling: OK to Fire Teachers

Student Press Law Center

Censorship: An Educator’s Guide

Education Minnesota: Your Rights as a Teacher
information about legal rights/academic freedom

Banned Books Online

People For the American Way: free speech/anti-censorship advocates

National Coalition Against Censorship

ALA Workbook for Writing Selection Policy

Freedom to Read Foundation: ALA

American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom

Banned Books Week
lists of banned books

Students Right to Read
Rationales for Challenged Books. [CD-ROM]. National Council of Teachers of English (list of books on the CD-ROM)
For methods of developing rationales: Download pdf file: Rationales for Teaching Challenged Book
Cost is $29.95, NCTE members; $39.95, nonmembers. Stock # 38276-1525. You can order this from the NCTE Bookstore by calling (toll free) 877-369-6283 or e-mailing orders@ncte.org.

"Guidelines for Dealing with Censorship of Nonprint Materials"
developed in response to increased attempts at limiting teachers' use of students' access to films, video, and other nonprint materials

"Defining and Defending Instructional Methods"
presents rationales for methods that are sometimes challenged--journal writing, role-playing, whole language approaches, and others

American Civil Liberties Union

ALA Manual: Intellectual Freedoms

ALA: Intellectual Freedom for Young People in Schools

ALA: First Amendment Rights

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Study on school Internet blocking

Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR)

Freedom Forum

Index on Censorship

Project Censored

Free Expression Clearinghouse

Bonfire of the Liberties

Censorship and Intellectual Freedom Page