Considers a number of young adult novels in light of how they cast female characters as potential role models to which late 20th-century adolescent readers can relate. Offers brief descriptions of 28 young adult books of historical fiction set in America with female protagonists. (SR)

Describes an interview with Patrice Kindl, describing her world, her writing process, and discussing her two novels for young adults, "Owl in Love" (1993) and "The Woman in the Wall" (1997). (SR)

Offers three brief descriptions, from three high school English teachers, of unusual or alternative forms of assessment they use successfully in their classrooms: a system of tokens in an alternative school; a literary digest; and creating CD soundtracks for novels read in class. (SR)

Argues that computer technology has decentered high school English teachers. Describes a private high school with full computer access for every student; addresses issues this raises in the English department; describes three cyber activities used in the author's American literature classroom; and discusses the advantages of this decentralization.…

Describes how a middle school English/language arts teacher had students paint in watercolors their responses to the novel the class was reading. Describes how this approach signficantly improved the rate and quality of student participation, and brought out new voices and fresh readings of the text. (SR)

Answers teachers' most frequently asked questions about spelling, including issues related to why English spelling is the way it is; how students learn to spell; selection and organization of spelling words; determining spelling levels; invented spelling; effective instructional activities; spelling strategies; assessment; and adjusting…

Reports on the wide array of instructional resources created by teachers and students on the Internet as they envision new possibilities for literacy and learning, transform existing technologies to construct this vision, and share it with others. Describes central sites for Internet project descriptions, stories of teachers' journeys, exceptional…

Reflects on the process of standards writing conducted by the National of Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association, from both an insider and an outsider perspective. Reflects on the larger forces at play and the deeper issues which derailed the standards effort and which "produced standards that no one has much…

Examines the confusion among writers, teachers, and students regarding the mistaken "rule" that writers must not put prepositions at the end of sentences. Examines what writing handbooks, students, working journalists, writers, and those with a keen interest in the language say about the rule. Outlines the history of this "rule" and offers…

Examines how fifth-grade students at different stages of spelling approach open-word sorting activities with familiar words. Demonstrates the value of using open sorts as a means of assessing student thinking about words. Suggests that teachers should be careful using scaffolding techniques--they need to establish the nature and purpose of sorting…

Describes 33 books that give children insight into living in the great Midwest and into westward expansion, including books by and about Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the nature of the prairie, famous figures of the Midwest, picture books, and novels. (SR)

Describes "Character Interviews," a class activity that guides children, especially reluctant readers, to the meaning of a story through a thoughtful understanding of character as they consider a character's emotions and motives, to respond to a question as that character would. Describes the interview process. Offers sample interviews…

Provides an overview of about 100 quality historical fiction books for each decade of the 20th century. Describes "Doing the Decades" as a program where students, guided by social studies and English language arts teachers, work in learning teams to explore the "ins and outs" of the 1920s, 1950s, or other periods. (SC)

Deals with S. Kagan's (1990) structural approach to cooperative learning and its application to language arts. Offers detailed descriptions of several cooperative learning structures, including Numbered Heads Together, Roundtable, Think-Pair-Share, Corners, and others. Provides examples from actual classroom settings, along with various teacher…

Describes "A Walk through Time," the "serious fun" project that evolved into a student-created living history event that incorporates various disciplines, especially social studies and language arts. Provides an assessment of the Screwen County Middle School in Georgia project and discusses the improved relationship between the…