Method to the Madness

B.H. James is the author of Parnucklian for Chocolate, a finalist for the 2014 PEN Center USA Literary Award in Fiction. He has spent the last ten years teaching English to sixth through twelfth graders at a title I school in California.Elizabeth James has spent the last eight years teaching English to all ability levels. She spent the last four years as coordinator for the prestigious International Baccalaureate program at her title I school site. She and B.H. have two amazing sons. Visit methodtothemadnesscommoncore.wordpress.com

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Writing for Critical Thinking and Logical Cohesiveness (Or, How to Survive the Shift to Common Core)Chapter 2: Begin with Close ReadingChapter 3: The Great Gatsby: Applying the Skills of Close ReadingChapter 4: The Taming of the Shrew: An Introduction to ShakespeareChapter 5: Teaching Hamlet: Or, How to Approach the Most Important Piece of Literature Ever WrittenChapter 6: Teaching Fiction Writing: The Importance of Allowing Students to Create, Revise, and PublishChapter 7: Slaughterhouse 5 and The Things They Carried: Appreciating Postmodern Approaches to FictionChapter 8: Toni Morrison’s Beloved: Recognizing and Evaluating Theme and Purpose in a Complex TextChapter 9: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Abraham Lincoln: Designing a Cross-Curricular Unit of StudyAbout the AuthorsIndex

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.