Word Work: Practical Tools to Empower Language and Literacy Learning in the High School Classroom

How do words convey meaning? This book opens with a beginner’s primer to the study of the relationship between words and their practical functions. After providing a brief but relevant background on the theorists and methodologies of systemic functional linguistics (SFL), the author-a longtime educator-explores how students can use linguistic tools to enhance their own reading comprehension and argumentative writing. The book provides:

• Examples of different types of SFL analyses, such as the appraisal system and modality and identification analyses, which bring visibility to the ways that language has positioned people to think and behave;
• Evidence of critical growth and language awareness in student dialogue and writing development; and
• Resources and examples to help teacher practitioners and teacher candidates increase student achievement and support critical literacy and ELA standards.

Amber Simmons has a PhD in language and literacy education from the University of Georgia and seventeen years of teaching experience. She has received a number of awards, including the ISLS Founder Emerging Scholar award, NASFLA Promising Scholar Award, Atlanta Families’ Award for Excellence in Education, Brookwood High School Teacher of the Year, Gwinnett County Public Schools Teacher of the Year (finalist), GCTE Teacher of the Year, and NCTE Teacher of the Year. Her work and previous publications center on supporting student growth and developing language awareness in the high school ELA classroom through the introduction of SFL and social emotional learning practices. She currently lives in Flowery Branch, GA, with her husband and two children, where she continues to serve as a high school language arts teacher.