Compose Our World: Project-Based Learning in Secondary English Language Arts(Language and Literacy Series)

Learn how to develop and sustain multimodal, project-based learning (PBL) instruction in secondary English Language Arts classrooms. National standards encourage authentic forms of reading, writing, and communication that can support college and career readiness, and this book highlights PBL as a powerful way to harness students' interests and engage them in academically rigorous learning. The authors provide specific, research-informed curricular approaches and instructional guidance for classroom teachers, as well as an overview of the dimensions of PBL that are often overlooked in the broad expectations of inquiry-based teaching. Instead of "quick fix" lessons, Compose Our World explores how core dimensions of equitable teaching—such as social and emotional support, universal design for learning, and cultivating classroom community—function as the bedrock for student success in PBL contexts and beyond.Book Features: Based on the authors' extensive experience developing and studying a PBL curriculum. Brings PBL to life through classroom vignettes and teacher and student voices. Provides classroom resources that facilitate customization to unique contexts. Shares ideas for developing teacher communities around PBL practices. Offers additional curriculum materials online. Appropriate for ELA teachers new to PBL, as well as veterans.

Table of Contents:
Contents (Tentative) Foreword Richard Beach Acknowledgments Introduction: Introducing Compose Our World and the Pedagogical Possibilities of Project-Based Learning in English Language Arts Project-Based Learning in English Language Arts Compose Our World ELA-PBL Design Principles Transforming Teachers by Shifting Curriculum A Set of Curriculum Resources Based on the ELA-PBL Design Principles How to Use This Book Composing the Future PART I: INTRODUCING THE COMPOSE OUR WORLD ELA-PBL DESIGN PRINCIPLES 1.;Authentic Making in English Language Arts PBL in ELA as Authentic Making Authentic Making in Action Final Thoughts 2.;Learning and Engagement in Collaboration What Is the Purpose of Collaboration? How Do I Teach Collaboration? What Structures Can I Use to Facilitate Productive and Equitable Collaboration? Final Thoughts 3.;The Iterative Project Design Cycle What Is the Iterative Project Design Cycle? The Lifecycle of a Project The Iterative Design Cycle in Action: The Throughlines Project Final Thoughts About Iterative Design 4.;Attending to Teacher and Student Emotions and Care Why Is There SEL in My ELA-PBL? From SEL to CAPE Caring Advocacy Empathy and Perspective-Taking Bringing CAPE Into Your Classroom Final Thoughts 5.;Strengthening PBL Through Universal Design for Learning and Multimodality Unpacking UDL: What Is It and Why Does It Matter in ELA-PBL? Reinventing Romeo and Juliet in an English, Theater Arts, and Science Interdisciplinary PBL Project Multimodality and Digital Tools in an ELA Storytelling Project Final Thoughts PART II: PUTTING ELA-PBL INTO PRACTICE 6.;Building an ELA-PBL Classroom Ms. Mattern’s Classroom: Where English Language Arts Becomes Project-Based Integrating Text Into ELA-PBL Incorporating ELA Skills Into PBL Becoming an ELA-PBL Teacher Final Thoughts 7.;Making Assessment Work in ELA-PBL Assessment in English Language Arts Project-Based Learning ELA-PBL Assessment: Principles and Practices Final Thoughts 8.;Building a PBL Educator Community What Is at the Center of PBL Educator Communities? Our Version of Professional Learning Communities Principles for Designing Community What Structures Support Your PBL Community? Designing Possible Futures for Our Classrooms, Together Stay Playful 9.;Conclusion Be Flexible, but Stay Focused on Your Purpose Maintain Vulnerability, but Ensure Safety and Wholeness What Does It Really Mean to Be an ELA-PBL Teacher? Embrace the Minimum Viable PBL Practice Support Students in Their Shift to PBL Learning The Possibilities for ELA-PBL in a Changing World Appendix A: Compose Our World Design Principles Appendix B: Compose Our World 9th-Grade ELA Project Overviews Appendix C: Criteria Protocol Appendix D: Educator Check-in Survey References Index About the Authors

About the Author :
Alison G. Boardman is an associate professor in equity, bilingualism, and biliteracy in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. Antero Garcia is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Bridget Dalton is an associate professor in literacy studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Joseph L. Polman is a professor of learning sciences and associate dean for research in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Review :
" Compose Our World offers English teachers welcome hope in these difficult times. In its pages, we see students--and teachers--whose experiences in school have been transformed by a turn toward meaningful projects they design and work through themselves, projects that can even change their communities for the better. And although these projects are not made primarily for a grade, the authors describe how students can be brought in on generating the specific criteria used for assessment. The work certainly fulfills state standards, but it goes far beyond them. This important book, which should be read by all high school English teachers, is both inspiring and practical. It shows that positive change in education is possible, provides practical guides to that change, and features exciting projects students made as they became agents for composing their world." --Teachers College Record