This paper presents results from the 2000 Citywide Reading Tests (CTB-R) for New York City public school students grades 3, 5, 6, and 7, comparing results with 1999 test results. Overall, more students met the new, rigorous standards for English and language arts (ELA) in 2000. When combined with data for the grade 4 State ELA, the percentage of…

Instead of ignoring the controversial issues that emerge from discussions of gender, race, and sexuality, the author of this book addresses these issues head-on through the literature and writing he assigns. The book is about creating opportunities in the English classroom for students to become thoughtful, committed citizens. It is about…

Using literature in the classroom yields rewards. Literature for children is being recognized as increasingly important in children's literacy development. The ideas, resources, and activities offered in this collection of 43 articles published in "The Reading Teacher" from 1993 to 1999 provide strategies that are engaging and effective…

This book takes a look at the realities of classroom life, offering specific suggestions for dealing effectively with today's students. More than a compendium of activities, the first edition of the book introduced educators to a philosophy of teaching illustrated and implemented by workable, realistic techniques. The second edition of the book…

Presenting a wide array of Internet addresses and sample lessons, this fourth edition shows how teachers can integrate the Internet into their K-12 curriculum to actively involve students. The first section of the book (chapters 1-6) deals with the programs needed to use the Internet, as well as 100 great web sites for teachers, how to manage the…

This book offers suggestions for developing literary experiences that provide middle-grade students with opportunities to build an awareness of literary elements, genre, and the craft of authors and artists, and to learn strategies for exploring multiple meanings in literary texts. The literary experiences in the book are developed within a series…

This project focused on the use of creative dramatics as a teaching tool in core academic subject classrooms. Research has shown that student-centered instructional activities, such as the use of creative dramatics, allow students to construct knowledge and make meaningful the new concepts being learned. This case study describes the classroom…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that both individual families and whole cultures learn about their pasts by collecting and analyzing stories and artifacts; and that not all archeological finds readily reveal their history to archeologists. The main activity in the lesson involves students in making an oral…

Based on Sun Tzu's book "The Art of War," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the book has become required reading in military curricula as well as business, economics, and political science classes, and that many cultures rely on ancient texts and ideas for advice and guidance. The main activity in the…

Based on cowboy poetry and songs, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Old West cowboys produced a category of literature, people still write cowboy poetry, and cowboy poetry or songs have certain characteristics. The main activity in the lesson involves students in analyzing a classic of cowboy literature…

Virtually every aspect of modern life has been changed and shaped by the computer's tiny, ubiquitous silicon chips. It is not surprising that computers have had a profound effect on the way students learn in the modern classroom. This topical bibliography and commentary focuses on how computers can be used to enhance the teaching of language arts.…

Art has a tremendous capacity to engage students, offering science, history, mathematics, social studies, and literature teachers alternative ways to reach their students. In high quality schools, art specialists work reciprocally with instructors in other disciplines to support each other's content. This education resource for ages 5 to 18,…

Based on Mark Twain's novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that identifying and thinking about a key quotation or symbol in a novel can help a reader extract greater meaning from the work; and that a paper analyzing literature should follow a logical organization. The…

Based on Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that some fictional literary characters become so famous that they enter popular culture in other forms (movies, games, toys); and that working on a product such as a game often demands collaborative effort. The main activity of the…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to enrich students' understanding of a literary work through careful reading and analysis of selected key scenes; to have students recognize how arts media can be integrated into literature studies; to acquaint students with masterpieces of world art; and to reinforce learning through the use of…