Argues that British students of language study at A level need opportunities to build a broad foundation for exploring language experience, familiar issues and accessible concepts using practical activities and informal discussion if they are to develop their understanding of the more formal and systematic aspects of language theory. (SC)

Offers 50 diverse suggestions intended to offer students new ways to think about a piece of literature, new directions to explore, and ways to respond with greater depth to the books they read. (SR)

Offers brief portraits of 10 remarkable and accomplished middle school language arts/English teachers from around the country. Finds common threads in their philosophy of teaching, learning, and living. (SR)

Considers the importance of teachers changing their practice from the traditional norm. Offers insights into how this change can be achieved. Discusses conditions necessary for supporting improvisation and change. (PA)

Discusses Gerda Weissmann Klein's book, "All But My Life," which chronicles the author's journey from a normal young (Jewish) woman to a slave in Nazi labor camps for six years. Argues that the book is well written, has characters of depth and complexity, affirms life through the ordeal of the Holocaust, and is a popular book with…

Offers reflections of three professors of literacy education regarding their varied field experiences with preservice teachers enrolled in their reading/language arts methods courses. Describes each field experience and discusses its impact on classroom teachers, elementary students, college students, and college professors. Offers some general…

Argues that drama is one of the most powerful teaching strategies available in the classroom, in all subject areas. Notes reasons drama is not used much. Describes two drama activities used with seventh-grade students, and how they used it (with excitement) as a way of experiencing, thinking through and representing new understandings. (SR)

Argues that the English/Language Arts Standards document is a powerful tool for guiding discussion about the connection between evaluation and learning that is applicable across a wide spectrum, including policymaking, curriculum development, and classroom practice. Argues that critically examining issues like portfolio use in conjunction with the…

Offers and explains three pieces of advice for using the Internet in language arts classes: become a student (have students train teachers to use the Internet and have student interns in computer rooms to assist teachers); "morph into a cybrarian" (create an on-line library of World Wide Web links related to class projects); and empower students.…

The consistency between raters over three years of a high-stakes performance assessment was examined in two studies involving a total of approximately 3,000 students in grades three, five, and eight. Results show that raters in different years differ in severity, with raters in mathematics most consistent, and those in language arts least…

Describes vocabulary anchors, a graphic teaching strategy that helps young learners build the conceptual connections they need to understand informational (nonfiction) text. Discusses three essential understandings about early learners and concept development. Offers several examples of using vocabulary anchors in the classroom. (SR)

Argues that writers view grammar as a method of image construction. Describes image painting techniques from four grammatical perspectives: images of style, form, content, and convention. Describes how to teach these to eighth graders, offering numerous examples of class writing activities that use images as a doorway into the writer's art and…

Describes a two-year grammar sequence that the author uses with the seventh- and eighth-grade reading and writing program, in an approach that combines grammar instruction with what students are reading and writing. Describes how systematic grammar and usage instruction is connected to what students are reading and writing. (SR)

Reflects on three articles in this themed issue written by classroom teachers, describing how and why they incorporate the arts into the heart of their language arts instruction. Concludes that sign systems and the arts are powerful tools for thinking, whether they are used efferently, to represent specific information, or aesthetically, to create…

Inter-relationships of student attitudes toward science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies and student attitudes toward each individual subject were studied with data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (National Center for Education Statistics). There were significant relationships of student attitudes among the four…