Most educational computer software currently available severely restricts the kinds of interaction that can take place between the student and the computer. In fact, an examination of 317 language arts programs listed in a directory of educational software shows that 60% of the programs were of the drill and practice type. In response to this…

Designed to be used as a part of social studies, history, or language arts programs in grades 5-9, this teacher's guide gives background information, lesson plans, and suggested additional activities for teaching about the life of George Washington. The six activities are meant to be used in a sequence as a unit but they can be easily adapted for…

This monthlong interdisciplinary, award winning project was designed to help kindergarten children in Kentucky understand basic economic principles that affect their daily lives. The children study about the poverty-stricken people of the Appalachian mountain area of the state. Through the operation of a classroom coal mine and company store, the…

Four components of Boston's Title I program (1977-78) are evaluated in this report: Elementary Reading and Math Program, Middle School Reading Program, the National Institute of Education (NIE) Demonstration Project (reading), and the Language Arts Program. Problems common to all four programs were limited inservice training and limited…

This resource material, written by Georgia teachers and field tested statewide, provides 45 strategies--or motivational activities--to use as supplemental materials when students have difficulty mastering language arts skills. The strategies are listed alphabetically for easy reference and are presented as alternative ways to reinforce…

Intended to help elementary and intermediate level students develop a global perspective, this manual contains ready-to-use activities dealing with the concept of myself and others. The materials can be used in courses in the social studies, language arts, mathematics, arts, and science, or in interdisciplinary courses. There are four parts to the…

Intended for use by both elementary and secondary school teachers, the two papers in this report stress the importance of developing students' oral and written communication skills. The first paper, "Relationship of Oral Communication to Reading," by Phil Backlund and John Johnson, argues that ability in oral communication is a prerequisite to the…

The development of a modified semantic differential measure of school-related attitudes of grades 3-6 children is described and its validation involving 99 children is reported. Each of the four scales of this measure, Attitude Toward-School, -Language Arts, -Teachers, and -Arithmetic, was found to be unidimensional. Internal consistency estimates…

A program needs assessment device, the Chapter 1 Instructional Quality Indicators (IQI), was developed for the purpose of guiding staff development by indicating areas of strength and weakness in Chapter 1 classroom practices and procedures. In this handbook, the development and administration of the IQI is discussed in section I. Section II…

Good language users monitor and understand their own involvement in the learning process. They understand how language is used to make and reshape their world. Everyone needs to be allowed to test his or her personal theories of the world against practice and vice versa. Given the nature of society, it is important that conceptions of literacy…

This guide provides classroom assessment models and strategies that can be used by teachers in planning for efficient day-to-day assessment of the English Language Arts Common Curriculum Goals and in tracking individual student progress over time. The guide lists individual grade level expectations from the Common Curriculum Goals with possible…

A two-year study designed to evaluate an elementary language arts program in the Grande Prairie School District (Edmonton, Alberta) through an assessment of student achievement was conducted from 1983 to 1985. A major focus of the study was the area of listening, and the listening tests and teacher's manuals presented in this document are intended…

A study was conducted to determine the appropriateness of a particular whole language program, entitled "Project Victory," designed specifically for a group of high-risk, seventh-grade students in a predominately urban intermediate public school. Subjects were 20 students identified as high-risk by their school district on the basis of…

Three basic beliefs support teaching: (1) learning is social and individual; (2) learning must be personally meaningful; (3) learning rests upon a knowledge base that is constructed, not transmitted. The first step to creating an environment which supports learning in meaningful ways is for the teacher and students to become better inquirers into…

The Connecticut Mastery Test was designed to assess specific skill levels of students by measuring performance on various learning objectives that students can be expected to master. The grade 4 Connecticut Mastery Test, given for the first time in the fall of 1985, provides information which can be used to improve instruction and the basic skills…