Inquiry Units for English Language Arts is an engaging and relevant collection of instructional units that delve into contemporary problems related to equity, justice, identity, freedom, and social reform. Designed by practicing classroom teachers, these units integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening as modes of investigation in the Language Arts classroom. Each chapter provides specific guidance in planning, initiating, managing, and assessing a unit’s line of inquiry to ensure that students’ academic, social, and emotional growth are central to the classroom experience. The units in this book illustrate how guided inquiry prioritizes inductive learning by framing problems that require students to work collaboratively as they develop the critical thinking skills necessary to be active participants in a democracy.
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.
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.
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).
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 and Literacy and History in Action (Teachers College Press) and the co-authored Talking in Class (NCTE, 2006), The Dynamics of Writing Instruction (Heinemann, 2010), and Teaching Matters Most (Corwin Press, 2012).
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.
