Making the Journey, Fourth Edition: Being and Becoming a Teacher of English Language Arts

Leila Christenbury’s Making the Journey has long been a beloved classic in English methods courses as well as with in-service English teachers whose dog-eared copies occupy a permanent place on their classroom desks. The Fourth Edition adds a fresh new voice from veteran English Education professor Ken Lindblom, whose expertise in writing instruction, teaching with technology, and teaching informational and nonfiction texts complements Leila’s love of  literature and vast knowledge and experience across the field. You’ll find brand new content on:

• CCSS and other college-and career-ready standards and assessments
• Genre studies, with special attention to informational nonfiction 
• Digital literacies and technologies for teaching
• Classroom management and communicating with parents, administrators, and colleagues
• Teaching ELLs and students with special needs.

Leila and Ken’s timeless advice, humorous anecdotes, and stories of successes and failures in the classroom infuse Making the Journey with life and light, and instill confidence in soon-to-be English teachers. Though ever reflective of the current realities of teaching, and chock full of stories about real students and their struggles and triumphs, the Fourth Edition remains a beacon of hope and optimism for all those willing to enter the greatest profession.

Leila Christenbury is Commonwealth Professor of English Education at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, and a 40-year veteran teacher both in secondary English and higher education.  She is a former editor of English Journal and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English.  In recognition of her account of returning to teach in the English classroom, she is the recipient of both the  David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in Teaching and the James N. Britton Award for Educational Research. Leila has recently  served as NCTE's Council Historian for the organization's centennial and, at  VCU, she has been professor, department chair, and interim dean.

Ken Lindblom is Associate Professor of English and Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the School of Professional Development at Stony Brook University (SUNY), and a former high school English teacher. Ken has served as the editor of English Journal and is on the Executive Board of the Conference on English Education (NCTE).