August: Dreams and realities -- Thinking about teaching and learning -- A modern profile of adult literacy -- Teaching reading in high school: The continuum of possibilities -- The place and purpose of vocabulary instruction -- Putting grammar in its place -- Teaching writing: From practice to performance -- Teaching speaking and listening: The verbal curriculum -- Teaching thinking in the English class -- Composing a curriculum: How to plan a unit of study -- Measuring student progress -- Digital literacy: Technology in the English class.

Media literacy: Reading the visual and virtual worlds -- Integrating English projects and exhibitions into the curriculum -- Service learning: Its place and purpose -- Success for all: Teaching students with special needs -- What gender is English? -- Thoughts about culture, race, and language -- Ethics and the study of English -- Teaching advanced placement and honors English -- English teachers and the law -- Dear new teacher -- Getting a job teaching English -- Organizing yourself to teach English and have a life.

Creating a thoughtful community: The classroom -- The politics of education: Parents, school boards, politicians, and the media -- Joining the professional conversation -- Writing student recommendation letters -- Helping students write college application essays -- How to read a short story -- 103 things to do before/during/after reading -- How to help your child write better -- Components of an effective presentation or speech -- Classroom self-evaluation/checklist.

New teacher checklist -- A concise glossary of literary terms -- The timetables of teaching high school English -- The history of the relationship between the text, the reader, and the teacher -- Santa Monica High School textbooks by grade level -- Santa Monica High School summer reading lists.