Annotated Table of Contents. Supervision: Listen

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Seven: Supervision

Chapter 27. Supervision Lesson #1: Listen. Why is listening important to successful leadership? So much of success in leadership comes from listening to others and helping them carry through on their ideas. My willingness to listen to others was probably my greatest leadership strength, but at the end of my career as language arts supervisor, K-12, my failure to listen was the cause of my greatest mistake. After learning about my experience in refusing to listen, maybe the reader can avoid making a similar mistake.

Annotated Table of Contents: Language and Vocabulary

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Six: Language and Vocabulary

Chapte 26. Building Word Knowledge: What should a complete vocabulary program consist of?

Knowledge of words extends a person's range of ideas and is considered part of a person's IQ. Knowledge of words enables one to express ideas with precision, and, of course, is related to success in reading. Besides, words are fun. They have histories that are sometimes fascinating.

A complete vocabulary program in the secondary school involves pre-teaching unfamiliar words before students begin to read an assignment; using a systematic vocabulary text that emphasizes word roots, prefixes and suffixes, like Word Power Made Easy; and recording unfamiliar words from reading on 3 X 5 index cards, using as few words as possible to help remember the meaning.

Annotated Table of Contents: Language and Vocabulary

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Six: Language and Vocabulary

Chapter 25. Exploring Language: How can teachers have some fun with language in English class?

One of the most enjoyable language activities I ever used was to cut maps of the United States into quarters, giving each student a portion of the map. Students looked at the place names in their section of the map and copied down names of cities and towns that they found to be interesting. Next, in small groups, students tried to classify the origins of the names--people's names, geographical characteristics, biblical references, language of the American Indian, etc. Finally, students attempted to express generalizations about how Americans named their cities and towns.

This activity is just one example of how students can have fun exploring the English language. However, in having fun, they will also learn a great deal about how the English language works.

Annotated Table of Contents: Censorship

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

PartFive: Literature

Chapter 24. Censorship: How Can English Teachers Prepare for Possible Censorship Challenges? Dealing with censorship issues involves two fundamental procedures: first, a questionnaire to be completed by the challengers explaining why they think these books should not be required reading or even on the library shelf. And, second, a representative committee to consider the challenge and to recommend future use of the challenged material.

However, even more valuable in preparing for censorship challenges is writing rationales for teaching potentially controversial literary works, a technique that will help teachers decide on the appropriateness of the literature they teach in class and prepare for questions about the controversial material.

Annotated Table of Contents: Organizing a Literary Discussion.

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Five: Literature

Chapter 23. Organizing a Discussion of Literature: How can teachers organize literary discussions in which most of the students participate?

I encountered the model for good literary discussions when I took the Great Books training course, a program that changed forever the way I organized discussions. The key was the requirement that the group leaders, in formulating the questions, could ask only questions about which they themselves had some element of doubt as to the answer. The Great Books Foundation calls its discussion technique "Shared Inquiry" because everyone can participate in the search for answers; no one is designated as the expert, not even the leaders.

However, the Great Books program requires discussion leaders, not the students, to formulate the questions and insists that the literary work should not be introduced, that the students should just begin to read without any preparation. I disagreed with both restrictions. Therefore, I have used the Great Books technique with some modification, and almost everyone becomes involved.

Annotated Table of Contents: Why Study Literature?

Teaching English, How To..... by Raymond Stopper

Part Five: Literature

Chapter 22. Reading, Teaching and Studying Literature. What is the purpose of reading literature in school?

The scene was a meeting of parent representatives from each school in the district. The purpose was to review a new part of the language arts curriculum. Before the meeting began, one of the parents asked me a question that I had never had to deal with: "Why is the literature we read in the schools so depressing?"

Lamely, I tried to explain that even when the literature involves tragedy, it affirms life and is not pessimistic. Other parents around the table looked at me as if I were speaking Greek, and the chairperson of the group made it clear that she wanted to begin the evening's main business

I knew I hadn't answered the woman's question satisfactorily, and I was troubled. I would like to answer that question now. However, the question, "Why is the literature we read in the schools so depressing?" becomes, "Why read literature?"

Annotated Table of Contents: Reading Aloud

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Five: Literature

Chapter 21. Reading Aloud: Why is reading aloud to students of all ages important? How can students learn to read effectively? I don't care how old students are; they love to be read to. In my first year of teaching, I discovered the power of reading aloud to my high school students. I actually discovered it because I had given a fairly smart class Poe's short story, "The Pit and the Pendulum" to read silently. I remembered reading "The Pit and the Pendulum" when I was in high school and Poe's description of the prisoner's experience was so vivid that I had almost lived the experience of the prisoner myself. Therefore, I was surprised when my students finished reading it with glazed eyes and a definite air of boredom. What was wrong?

Annotated Table of Contents: First Grade and Secondary English

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper.

Part Four: Reading

Chapter 20. The First Grade-Secondary English connection: What should secondary English teachers know about beginning reading and writing instruction? What is a discussion of elementary reading and writing instruction doing in a book about teaching secondary English?

I include this chapter for four reasons. First, secondary teachers should know how children learn to read.

Second, the method for teaching comprehension in the elementary school, beginning in the first grade, is the directed reading assignment, the technique I recommend throughout this book for secondary teachers in all subjects to help their students read difficult assignments successfully.

Third, the issue of phonics and the basal vs. "whole language" is typical of issues in education that become "either/or" arguments. A similar "either/or" issue occurred in secondary English in the 1990s when proponents of the writing process battled fiercely in professional journals with the proponents of the writing product.

Fourth, the issue of "invented spelling" in the early stages of learning to write is actually an issue for every grade level, including the high school.

Annotated Table of Contents: Reading in the Content Areas

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Four: Reading

Chapter 19. Reading in the Content areas: How can teachers of subjects other than English help their students read assignments successfully? "Reading in the content areas" refers to helping students read their assignments successfully in such subjects as social studies, science, home economics and even industrial arts in which students are required to read textbooks.

Instructing students to "read chapter 33 and answer the questions at the end of the chapter" is probably the worst way to give a reading assignment. This method of assigning reading ignores motivation for reading. Such an assignment also assumes that the students do not need any help in reading. However, most students will know very little about the topic, and the topic will more than likely be unrelated to their experience. Experience and background information have a lot to do with how well people comprehend what they read. Students can also be puzzled by a heavy concentration of unfamiliar, specialized vocabulary. Finally, on a practical level, an assignment like this one leaves students wondering which parts of the chapter the teacher thinks is important and guessing about what information will be on the test. Sound familiar?

A few simple steps can make all the difference in students' reading successfully.

Annotated Table of Contents: Efficient Reading

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Four: Reading

Chapter 18. Efficient Reading: How can students find information quickly? "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention." This view of reading was expressed by Francis Bacon in his essay, "Of Studies," in 1625.

While among professional reading educators, this advice has become almost a cliche, I believe that few students are actually shown how to set purposes for reading or how to determine the extent to which a book or a chapter or an article needs to be read to achieve their purposes. In this chapter I will show how previewing the material to be read will save readers time and improve comprehension.

Annotated Table of Contents: Speed Reading

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Four: Reading

Chapter 17. Speed Reading: Is speed reading a myth? I have trained people in speed reading a number of times. In approximately forty-five minutes, I can confidently predict that readers without reading problems will double, triple, or even quadruple their reading speed. I have concluded that probably this training is worthwhile. However, I would use the technique as only one small part of a course in reading efficiency.

Annotated Table of Contents: Speaking

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 16. Speaking: How can teachers help students overcome their fear of speaking in public? Over the years I have learned a great deal about how to speak effectively before an audience. Public speaking has always been a stressful experience for me.I used to worry about my speech for hours before giving it, often not even eating because of my anxiety, and would replay the speech in my mind for hours afterward, assessing the strengths and problems of my performance. I have found that certain methods helped give me confidence in speaking. My goal in working with students in speaking is to help them overcome their fear of addressing an audience, of participating in small groups and of engaging in important interviews like those for employment.

Annotated Table of Contents: Spelling

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 15. Spelling: In the age of computers , is spelling still a worthwhile subject in the English curriculum? "I'll never use a word [in writing] I don't know how to spell," the Syracuse University junior stated candidly."

"Bad idea," I responded. "Your writing vocabulary will be slim to none. You won't be able to deliver your ideas with flair. You won't use that rich vocabulary you've developed over the years. Your sentences could sound like those in the Dick and Jane Readers." In this chapter, I propose a complete, confidence-building spelling program that will be supplemented by "invented spelling" and computerized spelling checkers.

Annotated Table of Contents: Professional Writing

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 14: Professional Writing. What can teachers of writing learn from trying to publish professionally? If your experience is like mine, you will learn humility. You will learn what it feels like to be rejected. You will gain a better understanding of the writing process. You will feel empathy for your writing students. You will become a sufferer along with your students in learning how to write. In short, you will learn to write all over again.

Annotated Table of Contents: Writing Across the Curriculum

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 13: Writing Across the Curriculum. How can English teachers and teachers of other subjects work together in teaching writing? I did not address the issue of writing in the content areas when I was language arts supervisor, K-12, because I felt that content teachers would have trouble dealing with the amount of time required to mark student papers. That view was shortsighted.

I now believe that I could have developed a consensus in the English department concerning the nature of the writing process, the use of writing as a method of learning, the structure of expository writing, a scale to evaluate student writing and procedures for teaching the research paper and the essay exam that we could have shared with the rest of the faculty. I now believe that cooperation between English teachers and the rest of the faculty in supporting the teaching of writing was and is possible. Here's how.