Suggests that research is a process, not a product, whose most important skill is thinking. Maintains that students cannot produce outstanding research papers unless they are taught strategies for gathering information, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating that information through critical thinking. Discusses ways English teachers can build…

Notes that "viewing" (acquiring and criticizing ideas visually conveyed) and "representing" (communicating ideas through various media) are being incorporated into language arts curriculum documents in Canada. Presents 72 teaching ideas (for language arts, science, and math) that encourage teachers to adopt, adapt, and…

Outlines particular moments in the author's recent experience as the instructor of a course called "Teaching English Language Arts in the Secondary School" when she was forced to examine her expectations about the course, about the students and about herself as the instructor. (RS)

Outlines an exercise the author has successfully used in literature classes to promote discussion. Describes how students engage in a pen-and-paper exchange of short, thoughtful responses to a particular topic. Notes how this exercise allows (and requires) every student to "speak" at the same time through writing, and that in ensuing class…

Discusses how language arts skills are prerequisite for nearly every occupation. Considers the problem that many prerequisite skills remain hidden until the worker is actually on the job. Notes that for students, the link between school and work is unclear. Looks more in-depth at the language arts demands of police work. (SG)

This article reports the technical quality of a measure describing the quality of classroom assignments piloted in the Los Angeles Unified School District's proposed new accountability system. For this study, 181 teachers were sampled from 35 schools selected at random. Participating teachers submitted three language arts assignments with samples…

The Imposter is a strategy that encourages a focused approach to reading among adolescents. Contradictions or other types of conceptual flaws are inserted into a reading passage. The reader, knowing that flaws are hidden in the text, attempts to discover the errors. The reader then justifies his or her identification of flaws based on the concepts…

Picture books are the first visual arts experience many students encounter. A picture book equally emphasizes text and illustrations, and though the text often receives most of the attention, in the best cases, the pictures are excellent resources for teaching about creating and responding to images. For a resourceful teacher who knows how to use…

The authors discuss the "thematic literacy bags" project they created to help them integrate language arts across the curriculum, promoting differentiated instruction while taking into account various learning styles and multiple intelligences. This idea became a reality when they were awarded a local grant to develop innovative educational…

This article addresses the underlying beliefs needed by teachers of young children if their learning communities are to be successful and self-sustaining. The relationships of language arts and social studies content to specific academic, social and literary rituals are discussed in the context of classroom examples in the United States. Trust and…

The authors of this article argue that professional development on literacy instruction should go beyond instructional methods to teacher identity. Reading and discussing poetry and literature, as well as writing to examine powerful themes in teachers' lives, can help educators explore and deepen their identity as language arts teachers. Casbon,…

It's not enough to present students with multicultural literature. The potential impact of such literature stems from honest and deep discussion, and that can only take place in a room where respectful, trusting relationships have been built. The author offers principles and strategies for establishing those relationships, nurturing those…

This analysis considers the role district policy environments play in the lives of beginning teachers. As part of a larger longitudinal study of teacher learning in the language arts, the authors analyzed the experiences of three first-year teachers in two contrasting school districts. This article assesses the role of policies concerning…

Many approaches to literacy instruction treat language as an object of study. The curricular assumptions that inform such instruction are that language is located outside the person, extracted from context, neutral, and explicable through defined rules. An underlying assumption in many language arts classrooms is that children will not pay…

The first part of this article recounts the experiences of a language arts teacher, Terry Patrick Bigelow, and his former student, Cynthia (Noyes) Ried, who suffers from Fahr's Syndrome, a neurodegenerative congenital disease that forms calcium deposits deep inside the brain. It is irreversible, inoperable, and incurable. In the first part of the…