Practical activities are described that can develop the skills necessary to perform routine tasks in order to function effectively in a literate society. These elementary language arts curriculum activities include completing forms, making lists, writing newspaper headlines, using telephone directories, taking telephone messages, reading product…

It is possible to connect art and language arts using traditional Japanese art. After explaining the Japanese art forms of Haiku poetry and sumi-e painting, the article describes a project in which students write haiku on special paper then illustrate their poems with gung and shey strokes. (SM)

Elementary principal from Hau'ula, Hawaii, explains how her diverse students require teachers who understand their unique needs, noting how she hires graduates of Hawaii's PETOM (Preservice Education for Teaching of Minorities) program because their awareness of cultural differences and cultural compatibility is effective for Hau'ula's low…

Three teachers (one university professor, one secondary teacher, and one K-12 language arts coordinator) formed a writing group to generate texts about the phenomenon of student autobiographical writing in the classroom. The paper discusses the benefits of autobiographical writing to students and describes teachers' experiences with student…

Describes the development, implementation, and implications of a speech-pathology-based language intervention program originated at the Children's Place, Ltd., day-care center. The program combines individual speech and language therapy by a speech and language pathologist with speech and language intervention by teachers in the classroom, thus…

A teacher at the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind recounts his experience implementing a whole-language approach with an elementary class of students with hearing impairments. The effort, focusing on insects, utilized dialog journals, word banks, shared reading, guided reading and writing, independent reading, and theme activities. A…

Development of a multistage dominant profile method for setting standards on complex performance assessments is detailed. The method grew from experiences with a judgmental policy-capturing procedure and an extended Angoff method. The design of an early adolescence English language arts assessment illustrates the complexity of decisions panelists…

Discusses what middle-grade students need, and what language arts can provide. Describes language arts activities that connect with real-world issues and audiences, with big ideas and big events, with home and family, and with students' interests and talents. (SR)

Provides six fully developed library media activities designed to be used in connection with specific curriculum units in art, physical education, reading/language arts, science, and social studies. Library media skills objectives, curriculum objectives, resources, instructional roles, activity and procedures for completion, evaluation, and…

Identifies a variety of methods to introduce constellations and asterisms to students in the classroom and planetarium prior to their study of the night sky. Materials used include transparencies, oatmeal boxes, photographic slides, and tracing paper. Exercises incorporate storytelling and prediction of location, movement, and seasonal patterns of…

Investigates to what extent children were given opportunities to engage in process writing. Finds a textbook orientation to language instruction, small amounts of time spent in prewriting or writing activities, and a preference for teacher-controlled writing processes. (SR)

A teacher of high school gifted students discusses his experiences, noting the importance of teacher humility; teacher involvement; making "basics" interesting; focusing on relevance; understanding common tactics of these students; and sharing ideas for "trapping" students into enjoying the humanities, social studies, and language arts. (DB)

Relates how one teacher restructured her classroom to use reading and writing workshops. Describes how three at-risk students in her classroom, in the course of the academic year, moved from being at risk of academic failure to being on the path to promise and success. (SR)

Describes the organization of a multidisciplinary unit on inventions and inventors. Teachers can use journals, quotations, classroom museums, and learning centers to help develop their students' language, mathematics, science, social studies, and science skills. Includes a list of books for students and teachers on inventions. (MDM)

Explains how teachers can use graphs and graphing concepts when teaching art, language arts, history, social studies, and science. Students can graph the lifespans of the Ninja Turtles' Renaissance namesakes (Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci) or world population growth. (MDM)