Method to the Madness

Reviews / Votes

As we know, it's up to our high schools and the English teachers in them to figure out how to develop the critical thinking and deeper learning promised by the new set of English language arts skills that most states have adopted. Method to the Madness provides details for high school English teachers in any high school on the rigorous reading and literature curriculum the authors worked out for "credit recovery" classes in a California magnet high school, as well as the discussion questions and essay-writing activities they used to engage their students and develop their college readiness skills. What are some of the complex literary and non-literary texts English teachers can use for students like those in the James's cred recovery classes? Read Method to the Madness and find out what worked for these authors. -- Sandra Stotsky, professor emerita, University of Arkansas There are three tests for any book designed to help teachers be better teachers: first and foremost is how carefully it maintains a focus on the students' experience in the room; second, how well it lays out practical solutions to the ever-present challenge of keeping the teachers' workloads manageable; and finally, how well it can defend itself to the current education standards. Elizabeth and Bill James' book Method to the Madness: A Common Core Guide to Creating Critical Thinkers through the Study of Literature passes all these tests, and even rocks the bonus question: How can we get our students to read and understand challenging literature? This is, in the end, an excellent textbook about teaching kids to think. -- Karen Gettert Shoemaker, PhD, author of "The Meaning of Names"