Music can be an effective motivational vehicle for teaching listening skills, literature, oral and nonverbal communication, creative writing, handwriting, spelling, and grammar. One idea for integrating music into the language arts involves the use of song lyrics as reading materials. Since contemporary country music, and its precursor folk music,…

Recent brain research demonstrates that the left hemisphere of the brain processes information in a linear, organized way. The right hemisphere processes the same information as a whole, with a focus on nonverbal, spatial components. Current educational practice is inordinately skewed to develop only the left hemisphere of the brain. Data from…

Intended for language arts teachers, this resource guide contains general goals for a language arts curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12, objectives for varying school levels, learning activities, and selected resources designed for a wide range of student abilities. Sections of the guide focus on listening, speaking, reading, writing, and…

Intended for teachers of preschool and primary school children, this booklet contains materials and methods designed to help make literature the core of the early childhood curriculum. The first chapter presents a rationale for making literature an integral part of the curriculum, as well as goals for the appreciation, comprehension, and extension…

This guide provides junior high school and senior high school educators with descriptions of specific techniques for teaching language arts skills, suggestions for planning units and elective courses in the language arts curriculum, and models for changing the English curriculum. Specific topics discussed in various sections of the guide are (1)…

The "Education Evaluation and Remedial Assistance" section 10-14n of the Connecticut General Statutes, requires that the State Board of Education administer an annual statewide proficiency examination in basic reading, language arts, and mathematic skills to all ninth-grade students. This report describes the development of the test and…

This guide contains lists of activities for using the local newspaper as an educational resource to develop content area reading skills. The compilation of ideas and activities, divided into four sections, offers suggestions for using the newspaper in language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science instruction. A fifth section on newspaper…

To provide a framework for secondary English program planning, the first half of this book defines the rationale and nature of an English curriculum, outlines content in language, literature, composition, reading, and speaking and listening on five levels, and offers procedural suggestions for developing a local English program. The last half of…

The intent of the inservice teacher education program described here is to allow teachers to focus on the possibilities that literature holds as a learning tool in children's education. Children's literature is interpreted here as a teaching device that contributes to both the child's skills in English language arts and reading and to his/her…

A study was conducted to determine the instructional effectiveness of supplementary computer assisted instruction (CAI) for high school equivalency training in the military. Thirty-two students in language arts classes and 32 students in mathematics classes were randomly divided into two groups: one receiving traditional instruction and the other…

A child's sense of involvement in story and desire to meaningfully experience literature must be sustained and promoted if the problem of "literacy" is to be resolved. Four activities, designed as a series of stages, can enhance the literary experience of children. The first activity is reading to children--exposing them to the language…

The seven articles in this journal issue deal with various aspects of reading instruction. The articles discuss the following topics: (1) results of a study conducted to gain information helpful to reading specialists and school administrators in implementing new Wisconsin state reading requirements; (2) the use of creative, reading-based language…

Information about the Riverside Instructional Support System (RISS)--a program designed to help elementary and middle school teachers and principals monitor basic skills in reading, language, and mathematics--is provided in this handbook. The first part of the handbook identifies the components of RISS, including primary, intermediate, and middle…

This final report describes the development and field evaluation of teacher training materials (for inservice workshops) and elementary school language arts materials. The basic goal of the training materials, called Teacher Development Packages (TDPs), was to provide teachers with the information and skills needed to utilize games and informal…

Thirteen of the 41 classroom observation dimensions derived from Medley's review of teacher effectiveness reports were scored on the Georgia Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness. Subjects were 53 fifth and sixth grade teachers in language arts and mathematics. The dimensions were: large group instruction; group size without adult supervision;…