What if your ELA classroom could spark deeper and more meaningful learning? Authors Beth Pandolpho and Margaret Lane Dunne offer 25 foundational learning opportunities for student engagement and self-directed learning. This practical resource helps educators foster student choice, allowing secondary students to develop their authentic voice through critical reading and literary analysis. Research based and standards aligned, these practices support life skills learning and are adaptable to any curricular framework.
Grades 6–12 teachers can use this book to: - Design classroom-ready, standards-based learning experiences that prioritize student relationships, belonging, and a supportive classroom community
- Create opportunities for scaffolding and differentiation
- Foster student independence through project-based learning
- Deepen literary analysis skills through shared reading and collaboration
- Help students explore their own questions and goals through inquiry-based learning
Contents: Introduction
Chapter 1: Building the Foundation for an Engaging Classroom
Chapter 2: Engaging Students With Assigned Texts
Chapter 3: Engaging Students in Independent Book Clubs
Chapter 4: Engaging Students in Literary Analysis
Chapter 5: Engaging Students in Finding Their Voice
Epilogue
Appendix A: Glossary of Instructional Strategies for Engagement
Appendix B: Standards Alignment by Essential Practice
References and Resources
Index
Beth Pandolpho is an instructional coach for grades 6–12. She has taught English at the high school and college levels for over twenty years. She trained at the Moth Teacher Institute to learn how to cultivate students’ ability to speak and write about issues that matter to them and tell their own stories. She is passionate about finding ways for educators to positively impact student learning while at the same time taking care of their own needs and infusing joy into the profession.
Beth has written for Education Week, Educational Leadership, and The New York Times Learning Network and is a frequent Edutopia contributor. This is her third book with Solution Tree Press.
Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature at the University of Maryland, a master of science in reading at Adelphi University, and her supervisory certification for curriculum and instruction at Rutgers University.
Margaret Lane Dunne, EdD, has over twenty years of teaching experience and is currently an educator on Long Island.
Margaret is a contributor to Edutopia, and this is her first book with Solution Tree Press. As an author and a presenter, she enthusiastically shares her insights about better ways to engage students, particularly as the English language arts landscape continues to shift.
Margaret received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marist University, a master’s degree in English from Queens College, and a doctorate in educational leadership and supervision from St. John’s University in New York. Her doctoral dissertation explores the impact of teacher presence on student engagement. She conducted extensive research on the impact of mindfulness practices on secondary teachers, with a focus on how these practices shape teacher-student relationships and influence classroom culture and the collective climate of a school. Additionally, Margaret is trained in both personal development coaching and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
