A hundred short monologs for teenage performers capture the problems and joys of the teenage years.

The launching of Sputnik in 1957 sparked an education movement that stressed the importance of curricular rigor and standardization as a means to improve education and bolster national defense. Within six months of Sputnik's launch, Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) that approved an unprecedented amount of federal funding toward the math, science, and foreign language disciplines. The teaching of English was left out and through the leadership of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the discipline maneuvered public relations and political connections in its quest to acquire federal funds. In doing so, the NCTE mimicked strategies that galvanized funding for math, science, and foreign language disciplines by arguing the importance of the teaching of English for national security and advocating for a teaching model that aligned with Cold War Era pedagogical trends. These tactics marked a major shift in how the NCTE advocated for the teaching of English. In the early twentieth century, the organization embraced student-centered education practices connected to the ideas of progressive educators. This perspective continued with the creation and expansion of life adjustment education during the 1930s and 40s. During this era, many NCTE authors recommended this movement that advocated connecting education to future adult experiences. Following Sputnik, NCTE leaders supported content-centered reforms. Instead of curriculum recommendations based in discovering and fostering relevant student experiences, the NCTE's focus became adjusting student learning to predefined skills it thought all students should possess. This trend was supported by conceptions of Cold War education models, including those advocated by their rival English organization, the Modern Language Association (MLA). The MLA had successfully worked with federal actors in attaining funding for foreign language training institutes and the NCTE's collaboration with the MLA represented a shift in adopting ideas it was previously opposed to promoting. Despite their efforts, the NCTE was not a part of NDEA reauthorization in 1961 the federal government, led by U.S. Commissioner of Education, Sterling McMurrin, funded teacher-training institutes for the study of English through a program called ""Project English."" The 1960s continued with the NCTE representing stronger content-centered ideas before shifting in less than a decade as indicated by the materials produced by the 1966 Anglo- American Conference on English at Dartmouth. Here, NCTE leaders reassessed their beliefs after meeting with British educators who advocated student-centered curriculum models and reintroduced benefits of experiential education. These ideas would manifest into student- centered curriculum models during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Six-hundred-year-old tales with modern relevance. This stunning full-colour edition from the bestselling Cambridge School Chaucer series explores the complete text of The Merchant's Prologue and Tale through a wide range of classroom-tested activities and illustrated information, including a map of the Canterbury pilgrimage, a running synopsis of the action, an explanation of unfamiliar words and suggestions for study. Cambridge School Chaucer makes medieval life and language more accessible, helping students appreciate Chaucer's brilliant characters, his wit, sense of irony and love of controversy.

For study or revision, these guides are the perfect accompaniment to the set text, providing invaluable background and exam advice. Philip Allan Literature Guides (for GCSE) offer succinct and accessible coverage of all key aspects of the set text and are designed to challenge and develop your knowledge, encouraging you to reach your full potential. Each full colour guide: - Gives you the confidence that you know your set text inside out, with insightful coverage for you to develop your understanding of context, characters, quotations, themes and style - Ensures you are fully prepared for your exams: each guide shows you how your set text will be measured against assessment objectives of the main specification - Develops the skills you need to do well in your exams, with tasks and practice questions in the guide, and lots more completely free online, including podcasts, glossaries, sample essays and revision advice at www.philipallan.co.uk/literatureguidesonline

With a team of recalcitrant longhorns pulling his sleigh, "Santy" pays a visit to a family on the Texas prairie, bringing gifts and Christmas cheer.

It started as just another interview. Young journalist Danielle Nadler agreed to call an old man who had lived 50 years in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Through their weekly conversations, the mountaineer boasts of his decades of outdoor survival only to eventually reveal his personal tragedies that drove him to life in the wild. Without a Trace drops readers into the California mountain town of Bishop alongside the man locals call Sierra Phantom just as he surrenders to life with an address, and searches for a renewed purpose and community with which to share it.

This unique journal encourages young readers to spend more time enjoying books, gives them great suggestions for what to read next, and helps them remember what they've read. Do you have a junior bookworm in your home? Or would like to see your child develop a greater interest in reading? This journal was designed with your child in mind. Anne Bogel, creator of the Modern Mrs Darcy blog, wants to help instill a lifelong love of reading in your child with a journal that's just for them. Inside, kids will find fun lists of book recommendations for different genres and interests, creative reading-related activities, and space to record what they've read and what they would like to read. This journal is an ideal companion for all your child's reading adventures. Anne's book journal for adults, My Reading Life, is available now wherever books are sold.

An engaging classroom playscript. In 1692, 19 people were executed for witchcraft and the whole village was engulfed in fear. But what actually happened in Salem? This play re-tells the Witch Trials by combining historical evidence with a healthy dose of imagination, and exploring the build-up of hysteria in the village. It covers important issues of prejudice and peer pressure, gang mentality, suspicion and fear. A more accessible version of events, Salem is ideal for preparation work for The Crucible. It also acts as an interesting comparison text to Miller's play, placing emphasis on different events and characters. New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing.

From Maria Edgeworth, Dr Seuss and Lewis Carroll to Sherman Alexie, Sharon Flake, and Gene Luen Yang, this is a comprehensive introduction to studying the infinitely varied worlds of literature for children and young adults. Exploring a diverse range of writing, The Bloomsbury Introduction to Children's and Young Adult Literature includes: - Chapters covering key genres and forms from fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to picture books, graphic novels and fairy tales - A history of changing ideas of childhood and adolescence - Coverage of psychological, educational and literary theoretical approaches - Practical guidance on researching, reading and writing about children's and young adult literature - Explorations of children's and young adult film, TV and new media In addition, "Extending Your Study" sections at the end of each chapter provide advice on further reading, writing, discussion and online resources as well as case study responses from writers and teachers in the field. Accessibly written for both students new to the subject and experienced teachers, this is the most comprehensive single volume introduction to the study of writing for young people.

These sixteen stories by new and internationally-known writers reveal a rich diversity of story telling.

They offer a variety of forms, settings, contexts, characters, themes and language in stories that are both accessible and challenging.

Authors include: R.K. Narayan, Beverley Naidoo, Mildred D Taylor, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Anita Desai.

X-kit Achieve! Literature Study Guides make nationally prescribed novels and dramas accessible to learners to help them prepare for exams.

They provide insight into the author and context of the writing, analysis of critical themes, plots and characters and plenty of exercises for exam preparation.

This study guide concentrates on Life Of Pi, one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years. After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan -- and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.

A new series of bespoke, full-coverage resources developed for the 2015 GCSE English qualifications. Approved for the AQA 2015 GCSE English Literature specification, this print Student Book is designed to help students develop whole text understanding and written response skills for their closed-book exam. The resource provides scene-by-scene coverage of Priestley's play as well as a synoptic overview of the text and its themes. Short, memorable quotations and striking images throughout the book aid learning, while in-depth exam preparation includes practice questions and sample responses. See also our An Inspector Calls print and digital pack, which comprises the print Student Book, the enhanced digital edition and a free Teacher's Resource.

New Outridings is a lively, entertaining and challenging selection of contemporary verse, much of it originating from southern Africa and reflecting the experiences of people in our changing society. Support material provides background and assistance to teachers and learners.

Colourful and visually appealing to help engage and inspire your students. Full of motivating activities, with opportunities for Assessment for Learning. Glossaries help make poems accessible for all your students. Uses a wide range of poetry styles with well-known classics and more contemporary poetry, as required in the National Curriculum. Provides coverage of Framework objectives for teaching English to help you deliver the KS3 strategy. Helps with pupil's progression throughout KS3 and transition from KS3 to GCSE.

Two Gentlemen of Verona is commonly agreed to be Shakespeare's first comedy, and probably his first play. A comedy built around the confusions of doubling, cross - dressing and identity, it is also a play about the ideal of male friendship and what happens to those friendships when men fall in love. William Carroll's engaging Introduction focuses on the traditions and sources that stand behind the play and explores Shakespeare's unique and bold treatment of them. Special attention is given to the strong female figure of Julia and the controversial final scene.

Please note this title is suitable for any student studying: Exam Board: OCR Level: GCSE Subject: English Literature First teaching: 2015 First exams: 2017 This Literature Student Book develops the key skills that students will be assessed on in the OCR GCSE English Literature qualification. Structured around the exam Components, the book offers comprehensive support for tackling modern prose and drama texts, 19th Century fiction, Shakepeare and poetry. Through the focus on the Assessment Objectives and skills, students will be equipped with strategies for analysing both their set texts and unseen texts. A range of activities throughout the book will provide opportunities to put these skills into practise with an emphasis on how to write about texts. Clear outcomes from the activities will build up into a useful set of notes that students can use for revision ensuiring that they are fully prepared for the exam. The book includes example texts, activities, stretch and support features as well as tips and key terms, and helps students of all abilities develop their literature response skills.

Librarians and teachers will find this guide invaluable for introducing young readers to various typical family situations through contemporary and classic literature. The Family in Literature for Young Readers: A Resource Guide for Use with Grades 4 to 9 provides a thorough exploration of the diversity of modern family structure and composition as depicted in contemporary literature for young readers. Written specifically with librarians and teachers in mind, this book serves as a reference guide for selecting and recommending these titles to students in grades 4 to 9. After an overview of the subject of family in books for young audiences and a brief history of the family and marriage, the book provides detailed analysis of more than 40 specific books, including coverage of plot, principal characters, passages for booktalking, themes and subjects, and guidance on using the book. A wide range of family organizations and specific relationships are presented: parents and daughters, parents and sons, siblings, extended families and intergenerational interactions, single-parent families, and same-sex families. Sensitive subjects like divorce, adoption, foster homes, and physical and mental abuse are also addressed. Detailed discussions of 44 representative works Extensive annotated bibliography of approximately 1500 titles comprising important fiction dealing with the family Index organized by author, title, and subject

A new series of bespoke, full-coverage resources developed for the 2015 GCSE English qualifications. Approved for the AQA 2015 GCSE English Literature specification, this print Student Book is designed to help students develop whole text understanding and written response skills for their closed-book exam. The resource provides chapter-by-chapter coverage of Dicken's novella as well as a synoptic overview of the text and its themes. Short, memorable quotations and striking images throughout the book aid learning, while in-depth exam preparation includes practice questions and sample responses. See also our A Christmas Carol print and digital pack, which comprises the print Student Book, the enhanced digital edition and a free Teacher's Resource.

X-kit Literature Guides explains the history, environment and the story of the text in broad terms. It discusses every major character and theme in the text in detail using pictures and diagrams to explain concepts. X-kit Literature Guides provides plenty of practise questions and answers and tips on how to tackle your literature exam.

Professional poets spend many hours crafting a finished piece of work, yet we expect children in school to sit down and write when they are told to, whether they feel inspired or not. This series of four books is a toolkit to help you build a positive framework for children to read, write, understand and enjoy poetry - to bring a creative spark to the poetry classroom. A combination of featured poems, creative ideas, structured lesson plans and differentiated photocopiable activity sheets gives the series a uniquely flexible approach - which means you can use the materials in any classroom context. If you're wary of poetry, if you think it's boring, or if you're nervous about teaching poetry, then you've chosen the right book. Key themes covered in BOOK 3: Style, Shape and Structure are style and structure, addressing regular and standard forms, the impact of layout, free form, 'found' poetry, and concrete poetry. Other books in the series are: BOOK 1:Words and Wordplay; BOOK 2: Rhymes, Rhythms and Rattles;and BOOK 4: Language and Performance.

Like every other play in the Cambridge School Shakespeare series, Antony and Cleopatra has been specially prepared to help all students in schools and colleges. This version aims to be different from other editions of the play. It invites you to bring the play to life in your classroom through enjoyable activities that will help increase your understanding. You are encourage to make up your own mind about the play, rather than have someone else's interpretation handed down to you. Whatever you do, remember that Shakespeare wrote his plays to be acted, watched and enjoyed.