The Kansas Association of Teachers of English
  • Home
  • Events & Meetings
    • Calendar of Events
    • Fall Conference
    • KATE Summer Camp
    • Register for Meetings & Events >
      • Past Meetings & Events
  • Publications
    • Kansas English
    • KATE PAGES >
      • KATE PAGES Submission Guidelines
    • Voices of Kansas >
      • Voices of Kansas Archive
  • Resources
    • Censorship & Challenges
    • KATE Archives
    • KATE General Resources
    • KATE Publicity >
      • PR Request
    • KATE Recommended Books
    • Social Media >
      • KATE's Facebook
      • KATE's GoodReads
      • KATE's Instagram
      • KATE's Pinterest Board
      • KATE's Twitter
  • About
    • Awards >
      • Elections & Awards Nominations
    • Board Contact & Mission
    • KATE & Education Services
  • Membership

Supporting Students and Their Emerging Sense of Self (with poetry by Phan)

10/3/2017

 
Abstract
As a newly minted teacher, I have begun to look back with fresh appreciation for my year of student teaching and the many people who helped shape and inform my ideas about education. Among those who left their impression on me is one student, Phan, who expanded my vision for the English classroom as a safe place to express and reflect. From this student I learned that a teacher can support by listening without judgment even when she or he does not fully understand.
Read the full essay in Kansas English​!
​Author
Jenni Bader, Wichita State University

Jenni Bader is a recent Wichita State University College of Education graduate and a first-year English teacher at Winfield High School. She has felt the call to serve through teaching ever since first grade when she read about Anne Sullivan in a chapter book detailing the life of Helen Keller. Although her path to professional teaching has been long and winding, Jenni has found many opportunities to share her care for people and her joy in learning along the way. She looks forward to the possibility of each new day and helping each student realize his or her full potential. She can be reached at nachalah@sbcglobal.net​

Un-Banning the Huckleberry

10/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Abstract

Over the course of history, various groups have challenged, banned, and burned texts out of fear and the desire to control the thoughts and beliefs of a populace. Dictatorial regimes such as Hitler's Nazi-controlled Germany used "bonfires [to] 'cleanse' the German spirit of the 'un-German' influence of communist, pacifist, and, above all, Jewish thought" (Merveldt 524). Modern religious fundamentalism seeks to control a populace either through fear and indoctrination like the ultra-conservative, nearly-literal witch hunt of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series when religious leaders of various Protestant denominations feared that the hit young adult book series would teach impressionable minds actual witchcraft. One of the most famous and still frequently taught banned books is Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In this paper the argument is made for the teaching of banned books by a case-analysis of Twain's text that considers the historical context, positive and negative aspects of the text, the harm of censorship, the value of free speech, and how frequently-challenged texts promote critical thinking for students.
Read the full article in Kansas English​!
Author Biography

Nathan G. Whitman, Derby High School

Nathan Whitman is an English teacher at Derby High School who has an MA in English, a BA in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English 6-12, and a BA in Creative Writing, as well as an endorsement in English to Speakers of Other Languages from Wichita State University. In addition to heading the school's GSA sponsor, he is also 
a founder of the Voices of Kansas journal published by the Kansas Association of Teachers of English, a 2014 Horizon Award Winner, and a Kansas Exemplary Educators Network Member. He can be reached at nwhitman@usd260.com.
0 Comments

Implementing Vocabutoons in the English Language Arts Classroom: Drawing Their Way to Success

10/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Abstract

Although vocabulary acquisition remains a critical to literacy development, teachers infrequently devote classroom time to vocabulary exercises. In this article, the author demonstrates the use of "vocabutoons" as an instructional activity which draws upon students’ multiple literacies—in particular, visual literacy—in order to foster vocabulary development. Tooning is based upon the belief that "[p]roficient readers visualize what they read as they construct meaning from a text" (Onofrey & Leikam 682). Representative artwork created by English Education majors enrolled in a young adult literature course at a university in the Midwest will be featured to highlight the tooning process.
Read the full article on Kansas English​!
Author Biography

William C. Sewell, Dakota State University

Dr. William Sewell is assistant professor of English Education and Composition at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. Dr. Sewell taught secondary English, forensics, debate, and theatre in Kansas schools for 12 years. His research interests include multimodal intertextuality, content area literacy, active learning strategies, young adult literature, and middle and secondary English education. He can be reached at william.sewell@dsu.edu.
0 Comments

    Message from the Editor

    Hello! My name is Deborah McNemee, and I am the editor of the KATE PAGES. I am very excited to see the connection and inspiration that take place here. If you are interested in being published on our blog, or have any comments or questions for me, please email me at kansasenglishblog@gmail.com

    Thank you and happy reading!

    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    July 2018
    October 2017

    Categories

    All
    Art
    BIPOC
    Book Club Guidelines
    Censorship
    Curriculum
    Elementary
    Kansas English
    Language
    LGBTQ
    Literacy
    Middle
    Poetry
    Practice
    Publishing
    Secondary
    Student Teaching
    Submission Guidelines
    Theory
    Vocabulary

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Events & Meetings
    • Calendar of Events
    • Fall Conference
    • KATE Summer Camp
    • Register for Meetings & Events >
      • Past Meetings & Events
  • Publications
    • Kansas English
    • KATE PAGES >
      • KATE PAGES Submission Guidelines
    • Voices of Kansas >
      • Voices of Kansas Archive
  • Resources
    • Censorship & Challenges
    • KATE Archives
    • KATE General Resources
    • KATE Publicity >
      • PR Request
    • KATE Recommended Books
    • Social Media >
      • KATE's Facebook
      • KATE's GoodReads
      • KATE's Instagram
      • KATE's Pinterest Board
      • KATE's Twitter
  • About
    • Awards >
      • Elections & Awards Nominations
    • Board Contact & Mission
    • KATE & Education Services
  • Membership