Overview

Encouraging Activism in Secondary English: Reading and Writing for Social Justice outlines a framework to encourage social justice teaching in the secondary English classroom by providing teachers with valuable materials for designing a curriculum that fosters social justice and strategies that can be taught to encourage reading and writing that empower students to take action on social issues that matter to them. Each chapter focuses on a potential anchor text, along with possible pairings, and offers specific suggestions for ways to teach and create potential activities and assignments that foster social justice. Anchor texts include works such as The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, Night by Elie Wiesel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and 1984 by George Orwell. The chapters include information about historical and contemporary social movements such as the Occupy Movement, protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Greta Thunberg’s climate crisis movement. Each chapter then offers specific suggestions for helping students to engage in critical inquiry, discussions, and reflection on their own experiences while reading.

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Reviews

Encouraging Activism in Secondary English makes a compelling case for the value of critical inquiry instruction. It provides specific activities for responding to texts such as The Outsiders (issues of social class), Night (social injustice), and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (racial justice) along with extensive resources for teachers for engaging students in critical inquiry activities with a focus that is particularly relevant for teaching in today’s cultural and political contexts. -- Richard Beach * professor emeritus of English education, University of Minnesota * Encouraging Activism in Secondary English: Reading and Writing for Social Justice provides rich, flexible, and adaptable teaching strategies to help today’s students make personal connections to issues that matter. Drawing on critical inquiry, multiple perspectives, and diverse texts, Beth Spinner shows us how to use the canon, contemporary young adult literature, and a wide range of documents and cultural materials in dynamic and empowering ways. Her students engage in discussion, media analysis, public writing, and participatory action research as they take action in their communities. -- Allen Webb * professor of English education, Western Michigan University *

Author Information

Beth Spinner is a professor of English Education. She taught middle and high school English before becoming a teacher educator. Her research focuses on ways to promote social justice in the English classroom, especially in ways that work to make curriculum meaningful and engaging for students. She lives and teaches in Michigan.

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