Many teachers develop oral communication skills through questioning, discussion, Socratic seminars, think-pair-shares, jigsaws, and small-group projects. To these activities the author has added poetry under the auspices of Poetry Out Loud, a national program that asks students to memorize and recite poems. On its website (www.poetryoutloud.org/),…

Suggests classroom activities to develop students both cognitively and affectively in language proficiency. (MM)

One of the most important educational objectives of high school is to teach critical-thinking skills, and no class does this better than strategic debate. Professor Mike Allen, lead author in a definitive study on debate and critical thinking, lauded debate's promotion of critical-thinking skills. Additionally, researcher Joe Bellon discusses the…

Describes an eight-week elective course for High School juniors and seniors on The Life and Works of Eugene O'Neill." (MB)

Describes in detail the author's experiences in turning E. D. Hirsch Jr.'s book "Cultural Literacy" into a game for high school students. Outlines an assignment for which students research terms from Hirsch's list, put them in context, and justify their presence on the list. (RS)