Between the Lines: Actively Engaging Readers in the English Classroom

Michael Anthony, 20-year reading workshop practitioner at the secondary level, and Joan Kaywell, acclaimed author and advocate for young adult literature in learning, present Between the Lines, a creative paradigm shift for the English Language Arts workshop classroom. In contrast to the traditional sustained silent reading and individual conferencing model, an impractical commitment for most teachers, BtL invites collaborative engagement and active inquiry among students as well as on-demand writing and integrated YA literature, all designed to support existing middle and secondary level ELA classroom curriculum instruction and national academic learning standards while empowering English educators toward improved student literacy achievement and the creation of lifelong readers. The classroom activities, with student-friendly names like Book Chat Check and Pop Goes the Question, promote animated discussions in social learning contexts and produce writings supported by textual evidence from student selected texts. Clear step by step directions for facilitation and authentic models of resulting student writing are shared along with a standards-based lesson plan suitable for grades 6-12. Ongoing teacher/student journal conversations validate independent reader thought processes and provoke differentiated learning experiences. The book includes Common Core State Standards-based strategies for responding to students meaningfully and for inviting extensions beyond the book, motivating increasingly complex and connective writings. Sample dialogue journal entries are shared along with insightful commentary and practical analysis. Everything needed for implementing Between the Lines is contained within these pages, including a user friendly appendix filled with fully reproduceable classroom workshop materials, tips for reducing the teacher reading and writing loads, and suggestions for building an enviable classroom library stocked with award-winning adolescent literature.

Table of Contents:
Dedication Introduction: The War on Reading Organization Chapter One: Between the Lines: The Establishment of a New Paradigm Chapter Two:Getting the Between the Lines Routine Started Chapter Three:How Between the Lines Meets the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) while Making Students Better Readers and Writers Chapter Four:Correspondence, Reflection, and Metacognition Chapter Five:Why We Do It: Twenty (20) Strategies that Correlate with CCSS College and Career Readiness Anchor Reading Standards Chapter Six:Managing the Reading Volume: Ten Top Hints Chapter Seven:Managing the Writing Volume: Ten Top Hints Chapter Eight:Establishing a Classroom Library: Why and How Chapter Nine:Wading into the Water: An Afterword Appendices Appendix A: Reading Progress Log Appendix B: Between the Lines Rules and Procedures Appendix C: Between the Lines Activity: Book Chat Check Appendix D: Between the Lines Activity: Pop Goes the Question Appendix E: Between the Lines Activity: Summary Slam Appendix F: Between the Lines Activity: Watch Your Language Appendix G: Between the Lines Activity: Like It/Don’t Like It Appendix H: Between the Lines: Novel Reading Survey Appendix I: Between the Lines Reflection Letter Rules and Starters Appendix J: Between the Lines: Metacognitive Letter Instructions Appendix K: Between the Lines: Status of the Class - Student’s Self Check Appendix L: Between the Lines: Student’s Scoring Rubric Appendix M: Between the Lines: Teacher’s Scoring Rubric Appendix N: Between the Lines: Award-Winning Books to Recommend to Students Annotated Young Adult and Adult Books References About the Authors

About the Author :
Michael Anthony has taught secondary English students, grades nine through twelve, for the last 20 years. He conceived and implemented a genre-based instructional English language arts curriculum, integrating independent readership and young adult (YA) literature. In 2006, he successfully reversed a ban on Adam Rapp’s YA novel The Buffalo Tree in the Muhlenberg School District, as featured in the NewYork Times. He has been a featured speaker at college and university symposiums on “Censorship in Schools” and has presented on adapting reading workshop strategies for high school students at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) convention. His research on the teen angst YA literature subgenre has been cited in The AlanReview. Joan F. Kaywell has served as Professor of English Education at the University of South Florida (USF) for nearly three decades. She was appointed the Director of the SunCoast Area Teacher Training & Education Research (SCATTER), USF’s COEDU’s Honors Program summer 2013. She donates her time extensively to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and its Florida affiliate (FCTE): She is Past President of NCTE’s Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN), completed two terms serving as ALAN’s Membership Secretary, and was the recipient of the 2012 Hipple Award for outstanding service. Kaywell is a Past-President of FCTE twice and served almost two decades on its Board of Directors. In 2012, FCTE created the “Joan F. Kaywell Books Save Lives Award” in her honor. Dr. Kaywell is published in several journals; regularly reviews YA novels, has edited two series of textbooks, and written one trade book. Kaywell fervently believes that teachers and authors are often the unsung heroes of children on the brink of self-destruction. By offering books to children to help them momentarily escape the pain of growing up, teachers offer teenagers a constructive way to survive the crisis, find hope, and know that they are not alone.

Review :
Between the Lines by Michael Anthony and Joan F. Kaywell is frank teacher-to-teacher talk about how you can run a reading/writing workshop in a high school environment even when school administrators aren’t invested in 'low-brow' reading. This book is the pep talk you need if you want to steer your classroom towards workshop but are tied in by constraints. Between the Lines: Actively Engaging Readers in the English Classroom is a bold and valuable text for ELA teachers who are breaking through test-preparation-only curriculum and who want to lead vibrant reading workshops in the classroom. Anthony’s guide has everything a teacher needs to get students reading and keep them reading. An important resource for any teacher who wants to grow lifelong readers. Mike Anthony and Joan Kaywell have redefined reading and writing workshop in ways that will bring joy to the hearts of ELA teachers everywhere. The pages of Between the Lines are bursting with practical “can-do” ideas, activities, templates, examples, and suggestions for how to use some of the best YA fiction out there. The students of every teacher who reads this book will thank them for changing their literacy lives, perhaps forever.