This document deals with testing in communication arts for 11th graders in Missouri public schools. The document contains the following items from Session 1 in the Test Booklet: "Thomas Hart Benton: Champion of the American Scene" (Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan) (Items 5, 6, and 7); "Rhythms of the River" (Rebecca Christian)…

This document deals with testing in communication arts for third graders in Missouri public schools. A story from "Highlights for Children" ("The Night the Lights Went Out") was used as a passage for Session 1 of the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test. The test provides five reading and writing activities from the story.…

This document deals with testing in communication arts for 11th graders in Missouri public schools. The document contains the following items from the Test Booklet: "Two Words" (Isabel Allende) (Session 1, Items 5, 6, and 7); "Gumshoes Turn to Internet for Spadework" (Nicole Gaouette) (Session 1, Item 5); a writing prompt; and…

This practical guidebook aims to show preschool, kindergarten, and primary teachers how to refine their literacy evaluation practices through careful "kidwatching." By observing and recording children's literacy development, teachers also develop new understandings of the ways children think and learn. Ultimately, through kidwatching,…

In this book 100 dynamic educators share some words that are important to them and what those words mean for teaching--here are the ideas that can start a teacher's day or stimulate new ideas for class activities. According to the book, each educator was asked to select a term that reflected an important idea for teaching; the terms appear in…

Teachers can take advantage of the appeal and power of Caldecott Award literature to extend and promote learning across the curriculum. This book demonstrates how to use award-winning books as springboards to language arts learning in the library and classroom, and the expansion of student awareness and appreciation of illustration techniques. For…

Noting that Washington Irving's classic tale of the Headless Horseman has lately become a Halloween favorite, this lesson plan helps students explore the artistry that helped make Irving the United States' first literary master, and ponders the mystery of what happened to Ichabod Crane. Its 4 lessons seek to make students able to: (1) summarize…

This book uses art to stimulate content-area language development and writing skills. From A to Z, the 81 animal patterns in the book combine with 35 different activities to enhance the primary curriculum--each student gets a photocopy of the pattern, paper, scissors, and some materials to decorate the "critter." The book's activities…

The implementation of the Houghton-Mifflin K-5 "Invitations to Literacy" language arts program was studied during its first year in California's Moreno Valley Unified School District. A sample teacher survey was developed, pilot tested, and sent to the District. The sample consisted of 658 regular, 20 special day, 19 resource specialist, and 118…

Noting that learning to read and learning to write are closely linked, this paper asks why there are sometimes readers who cannot write and writers who cannot read. The paper advocates taking a closer look at the reading and writing relationship to answer the question and provide strategies for competent literacy instruction in all areas. It…

The reading performance standard descriptors in this document support the sections of the English/Language Arts Content Standards adopted by the Alaska State Board of Education. It begins with listing competencies associated with being a competent and thoughtful reader; thinking logically and reflectively; and understanding and respecting the…

A sensitive young girl, shocked and confused by the death of her cat, learns the roles that predator and prey play in the balance of nature. Through experiences at school with her teacher, at home with her father and her grandmother, and through her own journey in nature, the girl learns why some animals kill and eat other animals in order to…

This is the third volume of the "Biography Today Author Series." Each volume contains alphabetically arranged sketches. Each entry provides at least one picture of the individual profiled with additional information about the birth, youth, early memories, education, first jobs, marriage and family, career highlights, memorable experiences,…

This is the fourth volume of the "Biography Today Author Series." Each volume contains alphabetically arranged sketches. Each entry provides at least one picture of the individual profiled with additional information about the birth, youth, early memories, education, first jobs, marriage and family, career highlights, memorable experiences,…

During the 1970s direct phonics instruction was the preferred method of reading instruction. In the 1980s the whole language concept caught on and phonics instruction was considered defunct. In the 1990s the pendulum, in the process of swinging back, was intercepted before it went to the extreme of "all phonics," by a balanced approach…