Explicit pedagogy that focuses on visual design and composition principles can affect students' responses to and understanding, interpretation and analysis of images, as well as the creation of their own visual representations. This article considers the why, the what, and the how of teaching various visual elements of art and design to students…

The new language arts syllabus for elementary and secondary schools in New York State provides a program framework which focuses chiefly on the development of pupils' skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, literature, and language. This document, the first in a series of packets which implement the use of the syllabus, is designed to aid…

This curriculum guide contains three basic sections: (1) a set of objectives for delivery skills, communicating ideas, and creative dramatics; (2) an activity card file for each of the three skill areas; (3) and an evaluation section including sample critiques and techniques for evaluation. Included in the objectives and activities sections are…

Designed to help stimulate the development of thinking skills in children of varying abilities and to review basic skills at all elementary grade levels, this book contains 153 "ready-to-go" classroom activities. Included are "total-group,""partner," and "individual" activities. Activities in the book are…

Intended for elementary school language arts and reading teachers, this paper presents classroom activities using poetry to encourage divergent thinking and to give children the chance to play with language and to practice English language conventions in order to be effective readers and writers. The 12 activities are (1) combining poetry and…

Designed for use at school or at home, this book focuses on the development of seven types of literacy: linguistic, visual, mathematical, scientific, geographic, economic, and computer. The book's suggested activities are each introduced with a detailed discussion of the necessary prerequisite skills, the concepts to be mastered, the materials…

This study examined the effect of 3rd-grade language arts instruction on growth in children's reading comprehension skills and the degree to which the impact of instruction depended on the language and reading skills children brought to the classroom. Classrooms were observed in the fall, winter, and spring, and language arts activities were coded…

This book draws on recent theory and research to suggest ways teachers (grades K-12) can raise the levels of thinking involved in classroom activities and give students practice in higher mental operations. Taking the position that helping students understand their own mental processes also helps them function at higher levels in the English…

Designed to help youngsters with real-world learning, and with being a smart consumer, this book focuses on having students participate in decisions facing consumers every day. The book contends that this is the best way to help students think critically and solve problems. Activities in the book require students to make consumer decisions related…

The purposes of this guide are to further the concept of language arts as the communication of ideas, to view goals in terms of specific aspects of child growth in language, to suggest ways of working with children in the achievement of goals, to provide guidelines for developing local curriculum materials, to aid in the selection and use of…

Intended for use with kindergarten through grade four students, this guide provides a number of ways for using newspapers in the classroom. The guide is designed to help teachers and students with ways of starting newspaper activities; with reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking opportunities; and with possibilities for making…

Teachers at the elementary, secondary, or college level can use postage stamps to help students develop skills in language arts, data gathering, and critical analysis. The era of the American Revolution is used to illustrate this teaching technique. (Author/RM)

The Chinese lunar calendar dates back to the second millennium BC. Unlike the western calendar, which numbers the years progressively from the birth of Jesus Christ, the Chinese calendar is cyclical. Each cycle is made up of 12 years--after the 12th year, the cycle is repeated. The Chinese associate each year of a 12-year cycle with an animal, and…

Intended as a practical planning and instructional tool, this teacher resource manual is a support document developed to assist teachers responsible for implementing the Senior High English Language Arts Program in Alberta, Canada. The manual's five main sections are: (1) Senior High English Language Arts in Alberta: Overview; (2) Developing the…

Fairy tales are stories either created or strongly influenced by oral traditions. Their plots feature stark conflicts between good and evil, with magic and luck determining the usually happy endings. While each culture and geographic region of the world has its own body of folk tales and fairy tales, certain themes and motifs tend to be repeated…