Through exploring Gothic tropes such as corruption, death, and destruction, students find meaning and hope. This article presents students' responses to a unit that prioritized aesthetic reading.

This case study explores the understandings that seventh graders constructed with Gothic texts in a reading unit designed by the researcher. Gothic is a fictional genre defined by horror and mystery. The stories’ protagonists are often marginalized individuals. The genre was selected due to its popularity with adolescents. Qualitative data were collected and reviewed using thematic analysis. The results of the study reveal that as a result of grappling with the societal other, participants gleaned meaningful knowledge that enriched them personally and socially.

This teaching tip highlights three writing minilessons that help students construct vivid sensory detail (textual detail related to the five senses) in their fiction and creative nonfiction writing. Learning to show, not tell, is a difficult task for novice writers. The author explores reasons why this is the case and provides directions for the implementation of three student‐centered writing minilessons. Lesson topics covered are analyzing song lyrics containing vivid detail, using a graphic organizer to help authors zero in on key moments, and a kinesthetic activity designed to help students devise similes and metaphors. These lessons are appropriate for middle and upper elementary students.