Kansas English is the peer-reviewed journal of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English (KATE). It publishes articles and materials on subjects of interest to English teachers, including scholarly articles, reflective/practitioner essays, opinion pieces, interviews, book reviews, and creative works (including photos and artwork). The editor in chief is Dr. Katie Cramer, Professor of English Education at Wichita State University. Kansas English is published annually. ISSN 2997-4712 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62704/ke58x
Kansas Association of Teachers of English (KATE)
The author describes the collaboration between a university English Education program and four of its program graduates to design and implement an applied learning experience in which teacher candidates in a young adult literature (YAL) methods course engage in reading conferences with middle or high school students.
Copyright (c) 2026 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
In this teaching tip, the author highlights several different uses for the mini whiteboard in the English writing classroom, particularly to move students away from screens.
Considering the Nature of Patriotism with a Sorting Activity
This article describes an activity in which students sort 10 index cards with actions that could be considered patriotic in order from least to most patriotic. With minimal preparation required, this is a simple activity that generates critical thinking and conversation among students about the nature of patriotism in context.
Appropriation or Celebration of the Japanese Folktale “The Crane Wife”? Start the Conversation
The underlying concept of this learning module, for secondary or college level English language arts (ELA) courses, is to begin a conversation about what it means to celebrate a culture vs. to appropriate a culture. This module features an original folktale from Japan “The Crane Wife” and two Western adaptations.
Cultural Identity, Family History, and Grito in Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
The author reviews multi-award-winning YA graphic memoir Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir (2023) by Pedro Martín, providing a summary, essential questions, and teaching ideas.
A Painter, a Painting, and Perception in The Mona Lisa Vanishes
The author reviews Nicholas Day’s The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, A Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity (2023), including background information and a discussion of the book’s exploration of the nature of contemporary celebrity culture.
Representation and Intersectional Identities in Last Night at the Telegraph Club
The author reviews multi-award-winning YA novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021) by Malinda Lo, providing a summary, essential questions, and teaching ideas.
The Impossible Escape: A Little-Known Story that Exposed the Truth about Auschwitz
The author reviews the young adult historical nonfiction work, The Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe (2023) by Steve Sheinkin.
Time Travel, Teen Anxiety, and Doomsday Prepping in The First State of Being
The author reviews the young adult fantasy novel The First State of Being (2024) by Erin Entrada Kelly, providing analysis and suggestions for teaching.
A Lesson in Power and Politics: Alan Gratz’s War Games
Alan Gratz’s 2025 novel War Games follows a 13-year-old Evie as she competes in gymnastics in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and becomes involved in a plan to rob the German central bank. Gratz explores power and politics as Evie learns the truth of the Nazi Regime, in a way that draws uncomfortable but undeniable comparisons to 2025 United States.
“It’s Okay to be Scared”: Finding Hope Amid the Horror in Hell Followed with Us
The author reviews Andrew Joseph White’s novel Hell Followed with Us (2022), including a summary, potential for classroom relevance, and reflections on the importance of diverse queer stories for youth in turbulent and marginalizing times.
Favorably Portraying Agricultural Practices through Penpals: A Review of Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm
Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm depicts a wonderful parallel between traditional farming practices and modern technological growing techniques (aeroponics) portrayed through a penpal relationship between two children. The book informs readers about agricultural practices and seasonal growth while also sending positive messages about diversity, independence, and women in science.
Tiger-Trapping in the Elementary Classroom: A Review of When You Trap a Tiger
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller is a compelling middle grades novel that explores identity, culture, and loss through Lily’s journey of family, grief, and self-discovery. Blending magical realism with emotional depth, the story encourages readers to find their voice while highlighting the importance of acceptance, cultural understanding, and connection.
The author reflects on her experience as a teacher intern during the last year of a Secondary English Education degree at Wichita State University, using a creative writing piece to discuss one particular class.
In this creative reflection, the author recounts a classroom experience that both challenged and enlightened her during her spring 2026 teaching internship.
Enhancing Writing Quality in Secondary Classrooms
Research suggests that students may become more skilled writers when they write for a meaningful purpose (Block & Strachan, 2019). Measures of adolescent writing performance in the U.S. reveal a need for adolescents to improve their writing skills, warranting the exploration of instructional approaches that engage students in writing for meaningful purposes. This study examined the influence of an instructional routine called Writing with Purpose on four high school English language arts classrooms in a Midwest U.S. school. Using a pre/post design, 37 student writing samples were evaluated using three validated tools. Results showed statistically significant improvements in paragraph structure and all six traits of writing, with medium to large effect sizes. Findings suggest the Writing with Purpose routine may be an effective instructional approach for improving adolescent writing quality.
Creating Confident Readers and Writers in the Special Education Classroom
Given the unilateral push towards deploying the Science of Reading in the K-12 classroom, understanding the benefits of programs like Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) can help educators make decisions about how they can best support all types of learners. This reflective essay reports on interventions used with two high school seniors receiving special education services. It explains how LETRS principles were applied in the classroom to address decoding, morphology, vocabulary, comprehension, and composition deficits. It documents instructional adjustments, challenges, successes, and future instructional plans, and argues for the value of structured literacy and morphology-focused vocabulary study in the secondary special education classroom.
On the Question of Ethical Application of Large Language Models in the Writing Classroom
This reflective essay describes a year-long inquiry into the ethical and pedagogical implications of large language models (LLM) in secondary English classrooms. Written from the perspective of a National Writing Project participant, it traces the author’s initial skepticism—rooted in concerns about plagiarism and the exploitation of creative labor—toward a more nuanced exploration of teacher-facing and student-facing applications. Practical examples include lesson planning, communication, and AI-assisted feedback, alongside cautions about authenticity, privacy, and overreliance. The article emphasizes the importance of preserving the drafting process as a space for reflection, discovery, and voice development, while considering AI’s potential role in brainstorming, revision, and professional workload reduction. Drawing from interviews with writers and creatives, it also situates classroom use of AI within broader cultural debates about originality, commodification, and the value of human imperfection in art. Ultimately, the inquiry reframes the guiding question—Can LLMs support writing instruction in ways that do not harm creativity or authenticity?—as an ongoing challenge requiring both ethical discernment and a commitment to student-centered practice.
Musings About Wild Readers and the Science of Reading Classroom of Today
Contemporary Science of Reading initiatives have strengthened literacy instruction by emphasizing evidence-based practices that support foundational skill development and equitable access to reading. However, these measures alone offer limited insight into whether students develop identities as motivated, lifelong readers. Drawing on reflective practice and Donalyn Miller’s concept of wild reading, this essay argues that effective literacy instruction must attend not only to cognitive skill acquisition, but also to reading motivation, classroom environment, student agency, and teacher beliefs—factors that shape not only how students learn to read, but how they engage with the world as readers. Through narrative reflection, classroom examples, and connections to literacy scholarship, this paper examines how access to texts, student choice, and meaningful relationships support the development of reader identity and the transfer of reading skills into sustained engagement. It offers a conceptual perspective that connects Science of Reading–aligned instruction with the development of reader identity, positioning these as interconnected rather than competing priorities. It further contends that wild reading is not a discrete, scheduled activity, but a student-centered philosophy that fosters motivation, ownership, and enduring reading practices that extend beyond the classroom and into the broader social world.
Dialoguing with and about Texts: Using Dialectical Journals in the English Classroom
Dialectical journals offer a structured approach for helping students engage more deeply with texts. Research demonstrates that this practice strengthens critical thinking and reading comprehension (Edwards, 1991), supports the development of analytical and reflective habits (Enabulele, 2011), and encourages students to consider multiple perspectives as they form independent interpretations (Kelly, 2021). This article examines the role of dialectical journals in the secondary English classroom and provides practical guidance for planning, modeling effective responses, and integrating technology to enhance the journaling process.
Core Essentials and Collaboration at KATE Con
2026 KATE Conference co-chair Amanda Stinemetz shares the theme, keynote speakers, and professional collaborations with the Kansas Book Festival and Kansas Association of School Librarians for the upcoming fall conference, which takes place in Wichita, KS, Oct. 30-31, 2026.
KATE President Rebecca Pflughoeft shares a personal story of how influential English language arts (ELA) teachers sparked her lifelong passion for reading and writing, shaping her path from an intended social science teacher to an ELA educator. Pflughoeft emphasizes the importance of fostering a love of reading and maintaining high expectations for students; expresses gratitude for the unexpected opportunities within KATE, including serving as its president; and celebrates the community of passionate ELA teachers.
From the Editor: The Attacks on Public Education Continue
Kansas English Editor-in-Chief Katie Cramer laments the continued attacks on public education and democracy through anti-intellectual rhetoric, policies, executive orders, bills, and laws at the state and federal levels, and connects these attacks to book bans and censorship that harm public school teachers and students. She also previews the 2026 issue of Kansas English.
Reading Response Framework for Student-Led Discussion in an English Methods Course
The author describes the impetus and context for a change to her in-class reading response learning activities and shares a reading response framework that prepared students to lead class discussions.
Copyright (c) 2025 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The author describes a “listicle” writing activity in which students write about campus support services in a “five things you should know” format in order to share with their classmates. This fosters a sense of audience as well as a connection to the campus.
Poetry is meant to be shared, to provide an emotional experience for readers. It is difficult to define and explain. In a workshop, one might begin with some basic generalizations about openness, how readers participate in its creation, how to some degree it involves magic, both for poet and reader. During a first workshop experience, the group might begin with a few general questions to begin to dig below the surface.
Online Discussion Tools for Socratic Seminar
The author describes an educational technology tool called Kialo (https://www.kialo-edu.com) that may increase participation in classroom discussions.
Resilience in the Face of Traumatic Brain Injury in Jacqueline Woodson's Before the Ever After
The author reviews the middle grades novel in verse Before the Ever After (2020) by Jacqueline Woodson, providing a brief summary, essential questions, and teaching ideas.
Creating Remembrance in Alice Hoffman's When We Flew Away
The reviewer addresses the middle grade novel When We Flew Away (2024) by Alice Hoffman, including explication and justification for including the book in a middle school English Language Arts curriculum.
The author reviews the middle grade novel Show Me a Sign (2020) by Anne Clare LeZotte, providing a summary, character analysis and arguing for its accessibility to middle school readers.