Language Arts in Action

If you're committed to breathing new life into language arts teaching, then look no further. This book offers an action-oriented framework that can help you transform ELA teaching into more engaging and meaningful experiences--empowering students to become the authors of their own learning and contributors to their own futures.--Ronald A. Beghetto, Pinnacle West Presidential Chair and professor, Arizona State University A welcome new approach to information literacy, this work utilizes active learning while never losing sight of the activities' connection to larger goals around trust, community engagement, skill development, and how such activities might make for better consumers of news content. This last part is particularly important; active approaches tend to disregard the ultimate impact of such activities on the student as reader and viewer, instead becoming hyper-focused on technical production and polish. Language Arts in Action, however, stays centered with activities that will help students think through the nature of capturing and conveying expertise--lessons that readers themselves will likely find useful as well.--Mike Caulfield, research scientist at the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public and creator of the SIFT methodology for student fact-checking Language Arts in Action is a book that skillfully blends language arts and media literacy concepts together in a way that makes it possible for every secondary English teacher to engage with adolescent learners and their complex media environments. This book revolutionizes and reinvigorates journalism education at a time when it's never been more important to untangle the blurring boundaries between information, persuasion, and entertainment.--Renee Hobbs, professor of communication studies and director, Media Education Lab, Harrington School of Communication and Media, University of Rhode Island A great read for those interested in creating authentic learning experiences for students! Language Arts in Action presents a powerful, honest, and moving process of an innovative education model.--Yong Zhao, Foundation Distinguished Professor, School of Education and Human Sciences, University of Kansas and professor in educational leadership, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University