The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if the demographics of K-5 teachers affected their levels of stages of concern about using fine arts (music) in teaching English Language Arts (ELA) and reading. Steele et al., (2016) asserted that collaborating with a teaching artist influences classroom teachers' professional growth and…

This study explores how two elementary teachers (first and fifth grades) integrated social studies content and skills throughout their school day. More specifically, we describe and explain their attempts at "stealthy" social studies instruction. Drawing on ideas of fractured, healthy, and stealthy integration (Hinde, 2015), we spent 26…

This Teaching Tip describes the use of children's literature to help second-grade students meet Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and for Mathematics. During a shared reading experience, students used manipulatives to represent plot and characters while demonstrating mathematical reasoning. The article offers instructional…

The educational shift to the common core requires educators to increase the amount of informational text that is used within their classroom. The struggle for whole group use of informational text related to units of study proved to be challenging for teachers at the study site. Guided by constructivist theory that states learners must have the…

With the development and institution of the Common Core Standards, teachers must be prepared to integrate content areas such as social studies within the language arts curriculum. Teachers following the suggestions of the Common Core Standards should develop practical and meaningful strategies within their classrooms that encourage and support…

The emphasis on disciplinary literacy skills embedded within the Common Core State Standards requires a shift in preparing teachers to explicitly address the craft of reading and writing within social studies instruction. As teacher educators, we think it is imperative to understand the ways in which our teacher candidates integrate literacy…

State tests, which assess reading comprehension, ask students to make inferences and connections beyond the text. The problem of practice in which this study is situated is that students are having difficulty making meaningful connections and developing inferences in relation to the material that is read aloud together in class or assigned for…

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB), signed by President George W. Bush was supported overwhelming by both political parties and signified a major overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The introduction of NCLB led to a series of accountability measures in English Language Arts and mathematics in grades 6-8 beginning in…

Shares an observation guide, created by the author, for supervisors and administrators to use to assist teachers who are working toward an integrated reading/language arts program. (MG)

The integration of nature studies within language arts instruction offers multiple possibilities for guiding students toward close readings of literature, their changing selves, natural phenomena, and the world around them. The authors document their own rediscovery of nature study and what happened when environmental observations were…

Describes a performance assessment which accompanies an integrated curriculum for the third and fifth grades in two schools and is designed to reflect a wide spectrum of literacy processes that appear in an integrated curriculum. Follows two third-grade students as they perform each of the tasks. (SR)

Results of a study that examined elementary teachers' beliefs related to curriculum integration in language arts and reading instruction showed that while teachers generally favor integrating language arts instruction, only minimal amounts of integration actually occur in their classrooms. (RM)

Describes observations of how fourth-grade teacher Donna Carrara integrates literature into her writing program at the Montclair (New Jersey) Kimberly Academy. (HTH)

Creative dramatics activities may offer opportunities for active application of skills necessary to the development of higher level thinking processes. Drama affords the participants the opportunity to concentrate attention upon individual elements in the real and imagined world. Within this framework, the student, while attentive to detail and…

Describes a cooperative endeavor between university and public school professionals in integrating reading and writing lessons. Describes the Developmental Reading and Writing Lesson (DRWL) program's prereading/prewriting, guided silent reading and revising, skill development and editing, and independent follow-up activities. (HTH)