English Journal
English Journal is NCTE's award-winning journal of ideas for English language arts teachers in junior and senior high schools and middle schools.
Columns and Column Editors
Books in Review Michelle Zoss
NWP Voices Jennifer Dail
The Future Is Now Luke Rodesiler and Alan Brown
Teaching Shakespeare Kevin Long and Mary T. Christel
Poetry Peter Elliott and Alexa Garvoille
Column Editor: Michelle Zoss
Associate Professor of English Education
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia
zoss@gsu.edu
It is in moments of delight or surprise that we are open to new ideas, to rethinking, reimagining, renegotiating, or retooling. Teaching offers ample opportunities for surprise in conversations during work hours. But what about those times when we need something to remind us why we got into the profession in the first place? We can turn to books.
This book review column is organized around two thematic questions: What delights and surprises us? and What are we reading that sparks an idea about teaching in different, delightful ways? The column editor invites writers to consider the books that have altered their thinking about the teaching life and is especially interested in reviews of books that have influenced teachers’ beliefs about what might be possible in the classroom. A surprising idea can come from unexpected directions; therefore, this invitation is intentionally broad. The column may feature books that do not fit easily into the category of “professional development,” but that evoke thoughtful conversations. Please contact Michelle Zoss to discuss ideas for the column or send your book review essays of 1,200–1,400 words as attachments to zoss@gsu.edu for consideration.
Column Editors:
Luke Rodesiler
Associate Professor of Education, Purdue University Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Alan Brown
Associate Professor of English Education
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Since 2013, the “Future Is Now” roundtable session at the NCTE Annual Convention has provided a platform for prospective and early career teachers to present research, offer ideas, and share experiences as they prepare to enter the teaching profession. Inviting the next generation of English language arts teachers into the professional discourse benefits everyone. Experienced teachers may be introduced to novel perspectives—views that prod them to reconsider their practices and convictions about teaching English—while novices stand to sharpen their thinking, extend their development, and advance their budding expertise.
This column is committed to featuring the research, experiences, and creative activities of prospective and early career teachers. Submissions about teaching and learning in the ELA classroom, the development of prospective and early career teachers, and related topics are welcomed. Likewise, we encourage collaborations with others, including veteran teachers and university faculty. Authors might consider questions such as these: How do the methods you have learned through teacher education support your aims as an educator? What challenges have you encountered on initial entry into the classroom, and how are you working to overcome them? What texts have you found particularly helpful while developing your pedagogy? How and why do your instructional methods break from traditional classroom practices? Submissions grounded in scholarship are preferred.
Please send submissions of 1,200–1,400 words as a Microsoft Word file to Luke Rodesiler at rodesill@pfw.edu. Inquiries about potential submissions are also welcomed.
Column Editors:
Kevin Long
Associate Professor of Theatre
William Rainey Harper College
Palatine, Illinois
klong@harpercollege.edu
Mary T. Christel
Retired English Teacher
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Lincolnshire, Illinois
teachshakes@gmail.com
This column serves as a forum for teachers to share instructional activities, innovative lessons, and useful tools they have developed to help students enter a Shakespearean text.
Writers for the column might consider how the strategies they discuss are relevant to those teaching struggling readers and emergent English learners, as well as those teaching students with advanced literacy skills. The editors invite stories about the language of the plays and poems, innovative ideas about staging, multimodal interpretations of the texts, and how reading Shakespeare may help students explore culture and identity.
Writers are encouraged to explore interdisciplinary approaches to Shakespeare, particularly how his works intersect with history, politics, economics, or other unique fields of study. We are particularly interested in examining how Shakespeare can be used in unexpected contexts or with unlikely text pairings. How might Shakespeare fit into a course on American literature or contemporary world literature?
Inquiries, submissions, or suggestions for future columns should be directed to the editors, Kevin Long and Mary T. Christel, at teachshakes@gmail.com. Submissions of 1,200–1,400 words should be sent as attachments.
Poetry
Editors:
Peter Elliott
Lone Star College
University Park, Texas
Alexa Garvoille
MFA Program, Creative Writing
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
In the pages of English Journal, we look to publish well-crafted poems that connect our readers to topics central to English edu- cation: the impact of reading and writing on young people, words and language, classroom stories, and reflections on teach- ing and learning. Poetry reminds us, as educators, how to live in this world.
Submit your work by emailing an attachment to englishjournalpoetry@gmail.com. Use the subject line “Poetry Submission for Review.” The first page of the attached document should be a cover sheet that includes your name, address, email, and a two-sentence biographical sketch. In your bio, include how long you have been a member of NCTE, if applicable, and a publishable contact email. Following the cover sheet, include one to five original poems in the same document. Though we welcome work of any length, shorter pieces (thirty lines and under) often work best for the journal. Poems must be original and not previously published. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, though writers must immediately withdraw from consideration any poems that are to be published elsewhere by contacting the editors via email.
Poets whose work is published will receive two complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears. Additional inquiries about poetry submissions may be directed to the coeditors at englishjournalpoetry@gmail.com. We look forward to reading and celebrating your work.
For general EJ Submission Guidelines, click here.