Language Arts Research Articles

From Paired Text to Blended Genres: Pairing Picturebooks with Poems

This article introduces the concept of blended genres and describes a rationale for using blended genres to teach important topics in the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. It begins with a vignette that sparked curiosity about, and the motivation to develop, a variety of blended genres. It describes blended genres as rooted in traditional notions of paired text, provides theoretical background on the benefits of paired text, and highlights intertextuality as one important benefit, among others. It shares examples of blended genres and illustrates samples of instructional strategies used with blended genres to support intertextuality and student learning on important topics in English/Language Arts (ELA). It ends with concluding thoughts.

Authoring Counter-Narratives: Showcasing Student Voice through Critical Stance

In this teaching tip, we provide a method for teaching middle and secondary English language arts (ELA) students to assume a critical stance while reading and responding to diverse literature and media. Specifically, we address the infusion of critical literacy as a pedagogy to enable students to engage in criticality by identifying negative stereotypes and harmful biases, and then take action by offering counter perspectives. We begin with a brief discussion on critical literacy as a means to promote critical stance, followed by the learning activities for classroom instruction and a student example to illustrate the power of critical stance to promote student agency. Our method for critical stance instruction draws upon Rosenblatt’s (1978) seminal work on literature-based instruction that reading is a transaction between the reader and the text and Leland et al. (2018) who explicated that readers need to engage in critical transactions—a dimension of critical literacy.

Assessing Computational Literacy in First Language (L1) Teaching

This article addresses the multifaceted challenges of assessing computational literacy (CL) within the context of first language (L1) teaching. The article commences by examining the theoretical foundations and the need for an expanded understanding of CL, moving beyond the popular notion of computational thinking (CT). We then present an example from a 5th-grade classroom in a Danish middle school to illustrate how pupils integrate computational skills into their writing practices through a design-based intervention. Subsequent to this example, we propose a cross-disciplinary framework designed to assess CL in L1 settings, focusing on four principles that bridge traditional language arts with computational approaches. Finally, we reflect on how the application of these principles can help formulate new learning goals that better align with the emerging demands of 21st-century education. Throughout the article, we argue that a CL approach provides a more socially rooted and context-sensitive method for integrating computational methods into non-computer science subjects, offering theoretical clarity and practical benefits for both educators and researchers alike. The article commences with a discussion of the CL approach related to assessment.

Water Protection:

This six-week water inquiry unit with pre-service teachers in an English Language Arts (ELA) elementary education methods course explores the guiding question: Why is it important to protect water, and how can water be protected? Core whole-class texts include We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (2020) and Thirst by Varsha Bajaj (2022). Multiple assessment projects that support pre-service teachers’ informational reading and writing are included.

City of Pure Water:

This 9th and 10th grade multimodal writing unit takes a place-based approach to argumentative writing. Over ten lessons, students explore a local environmental issue through teacher-curated text sets before working with a partner to create a visual essay arguing for a community-based solution. The unit was originally designed and implemented in an Intensive Reading/English Language Arts combination classroom and aims to support and scaffold diverse learners. The unit is aligned to both 9th-10th Grade Common Core and Florida BEST standards on argumentation and organization. The goal of the unit is to foster students’ abilities to write and develop specific claims in their arguments.

23.16 : Iteração da identidade através da arte e da tecnologia

In this paper, I will reflect on “23.16”, a research project that delves into autobiographical memory, technology, and installation art, developed during the Master’s in Fine Arts at FBAUP. This investigation intersects with the conference’s focus on the arts and memory. Anchoring my methodology in autoethnography, I manipulate personal materials—sound and memory—employing a strategy of transfer and iteration within a network of devices. This creates a mise-en-abîme that bridges various artistic languages and forms. The work embodies a living inquiry into Judith Butler’s narrative of self as articulated in “Giving an Account of Oneself,” scrutinizing the iterative process of self-narrative and the persistent metamorphosis of identity. The project is further informed by Paul B. Preciado’s reflections on the imbrication of technology and identity, alongside Gilbert Simondon’s notions of transduction and perpetual becoming. The philosophical paradox of Theseus’ ship serves as a conceptual metaphor within my work, posing inquiries about identity’s endurance and transformation. This metaphor extends to challenge the identity of the project itself, questioning whether it retains the essence of a singular work despite the continuous substitution of auditory and visual forms. The project materializes in multimedia installations that, emanating from the same auditory roots, conjure seemingly dystopian versions of reality and memory. The installations are a testament to the performative nature of memory and the cinematic transformation of sound into image, and subsequently, into moving images. In dialogue, I aim to reflect on the generative possibilities of this experimental process—how the critical discourse may contribute to the research’s evolution.

Mental Health Literacy in the Middle School English Language Arts Classroom: Perspectives from Teachers and Social Support Staff

ABSTRACT Background The prevalence of mental health challenges among adolescents warrants innovative school-based approaches that support students’ mental health literacy (MHL). Purpose In this qualitative case study, we interrogated the experiences of three eighth-grade English Language Arts (ELA) teachers and two of their school’s social support staff as they conceptualized, developed, and delivered a novel MHL unit of study within their existing curricular framework. In doing so, we sought to better understand the experiences of these school professionals to inform future iterations of the unit. Methods We explicated focus group data to identify themes that emerged regarding participant goals, experiences, and outcomes as they related to unit planning, delivery, and recommendations. Results Generally, practitioners advocated for increased collaboration with each other to overcome professional apprehension and streamline efforts, a need for such a curriculum to enhance student wellbeing, and having access to more school-provided resources. Discussion Themes are contextualized within the current landscape of school MHL programming, and suggestions are highlighted to advance this ELA curriculum-based work. Translation to Health Education Practice Health Educators’ expertise can supplement the ELA curriculum with targeted MHL lessons for students, alleviating teacher role confusion and advancing the goals of the unit by providing psychoeducation.

An Examination of Secondary English Language Arts and Social Studies’ Teachers’ Perceptions of Literacy Integration in Their Content Area Classrooms

Secondary students continue to struggle with achievement gains in literacy. Content area teachers have the responsibility of providing literacy integration to support struggling students and help close the achievement gap in their content area classrooms. With this responsibility, it is important to examine content area teachers’ perspectives and instructional needs related to the role of literacy integration in their content area. Using a correlational research design and multiple regression analysis of survey data, this study examined the relationships between secondary English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers’ perceptions of ease of use, usefulness, and attitude toward literacy integration of effective literacy practices in grades 6-12. Results from this study showed a significant relationship between ease of use and teacher attitude, as well as teacher attitude and integration of literacy instructional practices. The results also showed the significance of ease of use when integrating literacy practices into secondary content area classrooms. Findings from this study may provide much needed insight to school- and district-based literacy professionals and administrators about how to support the instructional decisions of English Language Arts and Social Studies related to integrating literacy practices in their secondary content area classrooms.

Composing Time in a Secondary U.S. Classroom: (Not) Challenging Ideological Polarization through Straight and Queer Temporal Movements

Drawing on a larger year-long ethnography at a public, urban, comprehensive high school in the Midwestern United States, this article describes the texts students composed in a co-taught sophomore (grade 10) humanities course combining social studies and English language arts. Bringing together sociocultural perspectives on literacy and composition with queer theorizations of time, I argue for the utility of attending not only to time’s multi dimensionality but also its multi directionality. Doing so in writing instruction can help thaw binary polarization and foster more humanizing temporal and in turn ideological movements. To illustrate, I present an ethnographic case of students writing about the history of gendered clothing in 20th-century U.S. society. I examine how different temporal ideologies had consequences for students (not) reproducing antagonistic, polarized binaries with respect to oppressive values, in particular anti-LGBTQIA+ values as they intersect with class, race, and politics. Although my emphasis is how gender and sexuality intertwine with economics, race, and politics, this article suggests that attending to the multidimensionality and multidirectionality of time is a productive site for scholars and educators committed to praxes of justice in writing instruction.

The Language Art and Tragic Beauty of Shen Congwen’s Border Town

As Shen Congwen’s representative work, Border Town was published in the 1930s. This work has a beautiful writing style, showcases unique local customs and ideal human beauty, and occupies a unique position in the history of Chinese literature. After nearly a century, it still receives high attention from the academic community and support from readers. Its literary value can withstand the test of time. The work Border Town has rich exploratory value. This article mainly analyzes the literary value of Border Town from two aspects. On the one hand, the language art of Border Town, which is the concentrated embodiment of the author Shen Congwen’s talent and the key to touching people’s hearts in this work. This article will deeply analyze how the work constructs poetic words that touch people’s hearts from the shaping of the environment and the psychological details of the characters. On the other hand, the tragic beauty of Border Town is reflected in the tragic love story between Cuicui and Nuosong, the tragic life story of her grandfather, and the tragedy of the author’s creation not being accepted by the times. This article will explore how the work creates a lingering and tragic atmosphere from these perspectives. The research ultimately proves that Border Town is a work that transcends the times and has research and aesthetic value, worthy of repeated reading and exploration.

Humanizing pedagogies and student‐centered instruction in a networked improvement community

AbstractImproved English Language Arts instruction within classrooms and schools that typically serve low‐income, English Language Learners, and Students with Special Needs is important for ensuring all students receive rigorous and inclusive instruction. From the case of a Networked Improvement Community focused on improving instructional practices through student‐centered routines, this research explores the role of humanizing pedagogies in enabling effective student‐centered instructional routines by interviewing 16 teachers who were identified as particularly successful in working with Students of Color. Two major themes and six subthemes were identified from these interviews focused on building relationships as a foundation for humanizing pedagogies and then leveraging those relationships to create a positive classroom culture that fosters increased student engagement and academic risk‐taking with challenging student‐centered routines. These strong teacher–student relationships and student‐centered routines led to improved academic outcomes.

Participation in the Missouri Parents as Teachers Parent Education Program and third grade math and English language arts proficiency

The Missouri Parents as Teachers (PAT) Parent Education Program is a voluntary and universal home visiting program available to all Missouri families who are expecting a child or who have a child ages birth to kindergarten entry. Families participating in the Missouri PAT Parent Education Program receive a variety of family support services, including family personal visits with trained parent educators to develop parent practices and child school readiness. Research indicates that home visiting components of parent education programs support child academic outcomes. However, studies have not extensively examined how variation in participation, including the developmental period of exposure—the child's age upon entry and duration of participation—and number and frequency of home/family visits, is associated with child outcomes. In this study, we used linear probability regression to examine associations between variation in participation in the Missouri PAT Parent Education Program and child third grade proficiency in math and English language arts (ELA) (n = 9777), while controlling for relevant child, parent, family, and school-level factors. We also tested the potential moderating role of family low-income status at enrollment into the program. We found that the number of family personal visits was positively associated with third-grade math and ELA proficiency, whereas no significant findings emerged for developmental period of program exposure. Our findings indicate that increased exposure to the Missouri PAT Parent Education Program was positively associated with third-grade academic achievement for all children, including those from low-income families.

Exploring the Visual Communication of Illustration Narrative in Brand Promotion Through the Symbolic Meaning of Thorn Elements

Abstract: In todays market, the use of visual representations is increasingly prevalent, with illustrations becoming a key promotion tool. Due to their ability to deliver immediate and powerful impact on viewers, illustrations are now a top choice for companies in advertising. Various styles and techniques of illustration have evolved, enriching the artistic language of advertising; different combinations of elements can evoke diverse reactions and interpretations among audiences. This paper aims to establish a framework for the use of illustration in advertising by analyzing a specific element and its symbolic meanings. It begins with a discussion of the fundamentals of symbolism in illustrations, followed by a detailed analysis of thorn as an artistic concept. The paper concludes by demonstrating how these strategies can be applied in market, offering guidance for future product design and promotions.

Representing and translating art speak in films and TV

The term “artspeak” was first popularised by art historian Robert Atkins (1990). According to those who are sceptic of the necessity and value of artspeak, its function has been little more than that of creating “a mystique surrounding the work of certain artists” (ibidem: ix). This suspicion towards the act of verbalising and conceptualising art is also reflected in the representation of artspeak in film and TV dialogue. This article offers some insights on the representation of artspeak in original and translated audiovisual dialogue focusing on a case study – the film Velvet Buzzshaw (2019) – in which the language of contemporary art has been believably represented.

The visual construction of the people’s country and the Chinese nation: political aesthetics in the Ethno-documentaries of New China

This paper discusses the political positioning of the people and the cultural image of the Chinese nation through the lens of the Social-historical Scientific Documentary Films of China’s ethnic minorities (hereafter referred to as “the Ethno-documentaries”) by restoring the problem to the site of the investigation of humanities and social sciences and the General Surveys on (Folk) Arts in the early years of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s. Through detailed analysis of specific Ethno-documentary films, this paper explores how the social sciences conducted its “Social and Historical Investigation of China’s Ethnic Minorities” via the medium of film to convey the advanced social concepts and ideological work of the new regime through the historical narrative of art and politics. This study highlights three key points. First, the “Chinese nation” as a modern political concept dates its origins back to the 1920s with the emergence of the “National Heritage Reorganization Movement” and the “Doubting Antiquity School.” However, it was only through the medium of the Ethno-documentaries that this concept was visually and aurally represented in films for the first time, which draws our attention to the fact that the entry point for understanding modern China lies in discerning the relationship between culture and politics. Second, when discussing the relationship between culture and politics, this study juxtaposes the Ethno-documentaries and “art for workers-peasants-soldiers,” which developed during the same period. These two forms of art focus respectively on national history and the suffering of the lower classes of society, and it is this intertextual nature of the historical narrative that jointly anchors the cultural and historical view of New China. Lastly, historical view is the core of the humanities, social sciences, and art disciplines in New China. Previous studies have mainly attributed certain phenomena to the “politicization” or “pan-politicization” of a particular historical period due to disciplinary barriers and cultural trauma and have stopped discussing such topics in depth. In contrast, the significance of the political aesthetics in the Ethno-documentaries is to have transformed classical Chinese artistic language into a modern one to represent the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. It also raises a question of re-sinicization of many modern political issues that have persisted until now: How do today’s Chinese art works vividly depict the prosperity of this country and its hardworking and courageous people?

Supporting preservice teachers to navigate the tensions of teaching English Language Arts: An examination of two teacher educator's literacies pedagogies

In 1997-1998, we taught in the same independently funded elementary school. As teachers of Grade 1 and Grade 2, the school leadership asked us to research and recommend a program to support early reading instruction and replace the outdated basal readers. Opinions were sometimes diverse as we met with parents and school board members to identify beliefs/priorities in early reading instruction. More than 25 years later, in our work as teacher educators in two provinces, we are embroiled in similar conversations about reading instruction in a field mapped by polarizing views expressed in reports, social media, and teacher professional texts. As teacher educators, we recognize: 1) this context as challenging for preservice teachers to enter professional practice and 2) our role in supporting preservice teachers in entering the field. This was the impetus for a research study examining our pedagogies. We ask: How are we, as teacher educators, supporting preservice teachers to navigate the theoretical and practical tensions of teaching Language Arts through our pedagogies? In this article, we share findings from a collaborative Self-Study of Teacher Education Practice (S-STEP) where we leverage our long-standing relationship as critical friends in research/teaching to examine our teacher education pedagogies in our elementary English Language Arts courses in 2022-2023. Data sources include teaching artifacts (e.g., syllabi, powerpoints, activities) and videorecordings of discussions as we share these artifacts over Zoom. Guided by posthuman perspectives, we consider the non-human and human entities that were a part of our pedagogies. Analysis is currently underway. Preliminary findings suggest a shift from sharing particular practices with each other to a focus on decision-making to support preservice teachers in weighing the desires of teaching practices in literacies as well as diffusing binaries. This article highlights teacher education practices as relational and moving in response to context.

A study of Lau v. Nichols’ legacy: Examining the relationship between language support program availability and student trajectories

ABSTRACT The Lau v. Nichols ruling shows the importance of tailoring programs for local multilingual learners. We used longitudinal data from one school district in California to assess the relationship between attending a school with a language support program and English language arts (ELA) achievement. We found that students labeled an English learner had positive and significant average score changes over time when they attended a school with an academic language acquisition or a two-way bilingual program. Findings highlight how emerging multilingual learner access to high-quality bilingual programs can be associated with positive ELA growth over time.

Мебель «Лесной серии» С. Т. Конёнкова как образец синтезированного художественного языка

The research relies on a comprehensive approach, a formally stylistic analysis of over 60 pieces from the “Forest Series” by S. T. Konenkov, including furniture, as well as statements by its author. The aim of the study is to reveal the multi-level synthesized nature of the works, namely the synthesis of art forms, styles, genres, technical and methodological dominants, and deep generalizations of historical and religious content. The synthesis of genres is particularly evident in the investigated cycle of works as a whole, and their complex combinations are found in a number of individual pieces of furniture. As a result, the conclusion is made that it is precisely this specificity of the artistic language that allowed the sculptor to express the deep symbolic content, preserving the centuries-old connotations of Russian national art. The research is novel in that it is the first one to analyze the multi-level synthesized character of the works of furniture in the “Forest Series” by S. T. Konenkov, namely the synthesis of art forms, styles, genres, technical and methodological dominants, and deep generalizations of historical and religious content.

Computational Thinking Integrated in School Subjects – A Cross-Case Analysis of Students’ Experiences

The integration of computational thinking (CT) into K-12 education offers substantial potential to improve digital literacy and deepen students’ understanding across various subject areas. By embedding computational procedures and solution-oriented approaches into traditional curricula, students can develop essential skills that are critical for thriving in an increasingly digital world. However, the effective integration of CT into subject-specific learning poses challenges for educators, largely due to a lack of training and experience in implementing interdisciplinary instructional strategies. This study explores the impact of integrating CT into K-12 education through diverse instructional approaches, including modelling, storytelling, and unplugged activities. The research examines how students' subject knowledge, CT concepts, and practices evolved under each CT integration practice, as well as their acceptance toward CT integrated lessons. The study was conducted in different subjects, including language arts, biology, and physics, and at different grade levels. The technology acceptance model was used as a theoretical framework to understand students' adoption towards the different integration practices. The study revealed that different CT integration practices yield varying impacts on students' attitudes, particularly in relation to their prior programming experiences. Namely, primary school students with prior programming experience display a higher behavioural intention due to a lack of early biases toward programming. Conversely, secondary school students, less familiar with interdisciplinary approaches, initially show less enthusiasm for future engagement. These insights underscore the need for tailored instructional strategies that consider students' prior experiences and the broader goal of preparing them to contribute to a technologically driven society.

Особенности интерпретации дастана и мифологические отступления (на материале «Сказа-ния о дочери Шана» Микаиля Башту)

This article examines the images of mythological characters and interprets the text of the dastan “The Tale of Shan’s Daughter” from the point of view of folklore studies. The author of the dastan is considered being the ancient Bulgarian poet and educator Mikail Bashtu. The author solves the super-task of his dastan - the conversion of a pagan to the Muslim faith - with the help of several artistic techniques, among which an important place is occupied by a dream, which is equally characteristic of archaic folklore and ancient Eastern literature. Forces of good and evil, love and rejection, procreation, expressed by the concept of “woman” point to the most ancient layers of traditional everyday culture of the Turks, and the transformation of these images into divine forc-es of the Islamic persuasion allows us to trace how the Turkic peoples passed from one religious hypostasis to another. The genre definition of the work is determined through the analysis of its poetics. In particular, the features of the plot structure and artistic language are considered.