This paper reconsiders the nature of literature as a school subject. Musing on three anomalies that occur when language arts teachers consider their professions about school literature and what occurs in literature classrooms: (1) the anomaly of the text and the textbook; (2) the anomaly of the idolatry of naive readers whose heads have been…

The lion's share of funding made available under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was directed to schools that served large numbers of children from low-income families. In an attempt to quickly upgrade the quality of reading instruction in these schools, specialist teachers were hired to supplement the reading…

The Language Arts Supervisor of the Des Moines, Iowa Independent Community School District is responsible for supervising and coordinating all aspects of the middle and high school language arts program. Aspects of the program include curriculum development, instructional material selection and implementation, staff development, evaluation, and…

The use of peers has long been beneficial to students: especially useful are cross-age projects, where students in the elementary and secondary grades engage in a common unit featuring projects separate to each grade and whole group activities. Cross-age projects are workable with careful planning in advance among teacher and administrators.…

Continuing an emphasis from earlier editions on such areas as early education and the use of electronic teaching aids as an integral aspect of the classroom program, this book views language arts instruction as based on a comprehensive instruction plan composed of many different teaching strategies and types of materials. This edition of the book…

Predicated on the idea that a multicultural and multisensory classroom program based on literature can attract children's interest, this paper provides guidelines for choosing representative classics from children's literature. The paper advances two primary goals for selection and experiences for children: (1) stimulation of the creativity of…

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…

A study examined the amount and kinds of language arts curriculum integration that occurred in natural elementary school classroom settings, the contextual factors associated with such integration, and the relationship between teachers' thinking about this subject and the occurrence of integration in their classrooms. Teachers in six…

Developed in the belief that the regular inclusion of literature in the elementary school curriculum can lead to a dynamic interaction and integration in the language arts, this booklet provides an annotated bibliography of children's literature with teaching suggestions. The activities are arranged so that they can be modified from one book to…

Designed for teachers of high school students, the unit proposes an individualized approach for teaching vocabulary. Students choose from three vocabulary word lists which represent levels of difficulty and which are chosen from words selected by students during the previous semester. In vocabulary notebooks, students enter pronunciation…

An elementary school unit on punctuation skills is divided into nine sections. Section 1 contains a pretest which is repeated in section 9 as a posttest. Section 2 consists of a series of punctuation mark caricatures to put on the classroom bulletin board. Sections 3 through 7 contain material on the following topics: end of sentence punctuation,…

Designed for use in junior high school language arts classes, this learning activity packet combines the study of prejudice with language arts skills activities. An attitude inventory in which students assess their own prejudices is followed by a selection of short stories, skits, and a poem dealing with different kinds of prejudice. Each reading…

One of a series of activity guides designed to aid teachers in developing the thinking skills of primary grade students, this publication offers a variety of learning activities and resource materials. The activities and resources include: a calendar which lists important days and birthdays in December, January, and February; poems; word puzzles…

One of a series of activity guides, this publication offers a variety of learning activities and resource materials for intermediate grade students. The activities and resources include: science activities; word puzzles and other puzzles; arts and crafts activities; language arts activities; poems; outdoor activities; and facts about the…

Projections concerning the nature of schooling in the 21st century are replete with images of schooling at home via electronic media. Educational goals suggested by theorists include (1) using language and other symbol systems to think and communicate effectively with diverse peoples; (2) developing skills of lifelong learning; (3) acquiring a…