It is imperative that teachers build community in their classrooms and across their academic teams and grades in order to make school a safe and supportive place for adolescents. Teachers must help their students acknowledge that they belong to a group together, that they are part of a "we" or "us," and that any differences--divergent talents, backgrounds, experiences, cultures, and skills--only make "us" stronger and better. No More "Us" and "Them" delineates what steps educators can take to create an atmosphere where adolescent students feel accepted, included, and valuable to themselves...

It is imperative that teachers build community in their classrooms and across their academic teams and grades in order to make school a safe and supportive place for adolescents. Teachers must help their students acknowledge that they belong to a group together, that they are part of a "we" or "us," and that any differences--divergent talents, backgrounds, experiences, cultures, and skills--only make "us" stronger and better. No More "Us" and "Them" delineates what steps educators can take to create an atmosphere where adolescent students feel accepted, included, and valuable to themselves...

One of the most popular literary genres, memoir can provide literary and literacy access to reluctant adolescent readers and writers, and help bridge the achievement gap by motivating students to read more critically and write more meaningfully about what matters most to them. The introspective nature of memoir helps students learn about themselves and connect with their environment or community, while also meeting a variety of Common Core standards. In this way, memoirs and creative nonfiction can provide a bridge between -fiction and nonfiction reading, -narrative and informative writing,...

One of the most popular literary genres, memoir can provide literary and literacy access to reluctant adolescent readers and writers, and help bridge the achievement gap by motivating students to read more critically and write more meaningfully about what matters most to them. The introspective nature of memoir helps students learn about themselves and connect with their environment or community, while also meeting a variety of Common Core standards. In this way, memoirs and creative nonfiction can provide a bridge between -fiction and nonfiction reading, -narrative and informative writing,...