Offers brief annotations of 24 books for adolescents in which girls take on tough tasks, face seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and triumph over adversity. (SR)

Offers brief descriptions of 23 books of poetry for middle schoolers. Notes that these selections may lure readers who are dismayed with poetry back to a love of poetry. (SR)

Describes how the introduction of information books into a first grade classroom led a "traditional" teacher to provide students with a wider variety of literary experiences and allow students the opportunity for more active involvement in books. Notes that the classroom evolved into a child-centered environment where each child reads and writes…

Examines the evolving relationships between teachers and standards in Maine and in Derbyshire, England. The politics of who develops the curriculum and how it is implemented have strongly shaped teachers' attitudes toward working with standards. Notes that while teachers believe they are substantially meeting those standards, documenting and…

Summarizes research on gender differences in writing, and challenges readers to reconsider how these are understood. Looks at the use of violence and humor versus sincerity in boys' writing. Argues that, rather than seeing these differences as deficits, the cultural materials boys bring to the classroom should be acknowledged and engaged. (SR)

Describes what to pack for the English/Language Arts teacher of the new century: a brain (outlining crucial lessons learned about language teaching and learning, important principles, and particular points about writing and reading literature); a heart (since teachers must inspire, nurture, and care about their students); and courage (in the face…

Describes the author's first year of teaching (1972). Discusses six lessons she learned, including how: (1) collaboration and choice build ownership and enthusiasm; (2) excitement and passion are vital supports for learning; (3) reading and writing for audiences beyond the classroom are powerful motivators; and (4) openness to new ways of viewing…

Discusses the problem of sources in student research; evaluating web resources for authority and accuracy; and evaluating objectivity of web sources (their currency and coverage). Notes helpful web sites about evaluating sources. Describes some web evaluation exercises for students, and outlines three assignments on evaluating web sources. (SR)

Used a multitrait-multimethod approach to investigate the validity of scores on locally prepared performance assessments taken by 6,000 third and fourth graders in reading, language arts, and mathematics. A partial explanation for the lack of construct validity evidence for the performance assessment scores is the probable low reliability of…

Technology education should play a far more substantial role in schools. Defines the term technology and presents a comprehensive set of goals for elementary technology education. (Contains 30 references.) (Author/YDS)

The potential for explosive urban sprawl is what motivated these authors to create a unit on community planning and the visual environment. They thought this unit would be an excellent way to engage students in a real-world issue that was relevant to their lives, while at the same time addressing social studies, language arts, and science content…

Language arts teachers and library media specialists bear the responsibility of teaching students how to properly feed their brains. In this article, the author describes how she teaches her students to make wise choices when selecting books. Furthermore, she presents the "Brain Food Pyramid" model that looks similar to the food pyramid but it…

In this article, the authors--the teacher educators who obtained a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVD)--explore what it meant for teachers and teacher educators involved in the PorTRAIT (Practitioner or Teacher Researchers As Inquiring Travelers) program to enlarge their views of teacher research and their own classrooms by being…

American schools have debated the merits of a national canon since the inception of English as a subject a century ago. In earlier years, the mission of the language arts was much more elitist and hierarchical. English was a subject that taught the great works, so that aspiring students could be familiar with the standard pantheon of authors and…

Although he may not have spoken quite as eloquently as the Bard of Avon, Ernie Page, the author's methods instructor at Penn State, once said that teaching English was less a subject and more a predicament. He was alluding to the many complexities and range of subject matter that constitute teaching the English language arts. In the 30 years since…