Inquiry Paths to Literacy Learning: A Guide for Elementary and Secondary School Educators

Inquiry Paths to Literacy Learning, a collection of chapters from secondary teachers and university researchers, offers English language arts teachers several models and considerations for how to design and implement inquiry-based teaching and learning. As the contributors demonstrate, an inquiry approach can significantly boost student achievement, understanding, and transfer of learning. The chapters in this collection present classroom-tested approaches, activities, and assignments that teachers can use right away, but that also serve as models for designing learning experiences that most engage and benefit learners. Focusing on issues that adolescents find consequential, the sample learning activities promote the development of complex literacy skills, engage students in evidence-based reasoning, and foster an environment of cooperation, collaboration, and respect for different points of view. Together, the contributions in this book envision the English language arts classroom as a supportive environment for authentic inquiry and for the genuine democratic processes involved in grappling together with tough perennial and contemporary issues.

Elizabeth A. Kahn taught English language arts for 36 years and served as English department chair; she now teaches in the English teacher education program at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. She has co-authored several books, including Discussion Pathways to Literacy Learning (NCTE 2018), The Dynamics of Writing Instruction (Heinemann 2010), and Writing About Literature (NCTE 1984 and 2009, updated edition).

Andrew Bouque teaches English at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. In his twenty-one years in public high schools, he has worked to build classroom communities for students to find, develop, and refine their spoken voices and craft arguments that matter.

Dawn Forde is a teacher at Adlai E. Stevenson High School and has been learning from her students for almost twenty years. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences, primarily focusing on inquiry and its effects on student engagement.

Thomas M. McCann is a professor of English at Northern Illinois University, where he contributes to the teacher licensure program. His books include Transforming Talk into Text (Teachers College Press), Raise Your Voices: Inquiry, Discussion, and Literacy Learning, Learning to Enjoy Literature (Rowman & Littlefield), and Teaching on Solid Ground, with John Knapp (Guilford Press).

Carolyn C. Walter taught English students for thirty years at both public and private high schools and now supervises student teachers for Northern Illinois University. Ms. Walter is a regular presenter at national conferences and has co-authored Designing and Sequencing Pre-Writing Activities and Writing about Literature, and Discussion Pathways to Literacy Learning.