Engaging Minds in English Language Arts Classrooms: The Surprising Power of Joy

How can we keep students attentive, thoughtful, and inquisitive about learning in language arts? It certainly takes more than new standards and assessments. In this book, Mary Jo Fresch shows how you can use the joyful learning framework introduced in Engaging Minds in the Classroom to better engage students in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and other elements of language arts learning. She provides innovative instructional approaches for diverse students at all grade levels, linking the strategies to the research that demonstrates the effects of motivation and engagement on student success. Educators striving to meet the multiple challenges of standards, assessments, ELL instruction, and achievement gaps have more reasons than ever before to attend to this critical aspect of learning. Engaging Minds in English Language Arts Classrooms will inspire you to make the kinds of changes in your classroom that will truly engage students' minds—by helping them experience joy in learning. Mary Jo Fresch is a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Ohio State University. She is the author of multiple works on literacy instruction, including The Power of Picture Books (with Peggy Harkins) and Teaching and Assessing Spelling (with Aileen Wheaton).