Describes how the authors collaborated on a teacher research project in three elementary school classrooms (first, second, and third grade) as a means of documenting teaching and learning in "Wholistic" classrooms. Offers a skill sketch of the data collected in each classroom, documenting exactly which skills were receiving attention and practice…

Examines the effects of professional development in multimedia-based technology for 26 inservice and 14 preservice teachers on science and mathematics instruction. Focuses on three components critical to the success of this professional-development model: (1) linkage of pedagogy to technology; (2) collaborative teacher planning of instructional…

Studied relationships among achievement, self-concept, and motivation in mathematics and language arts in a longitudinal two-wave, three-variable panel study involving three cohorts of Norwegian elementary school students (n=1,005). In all cohorts, results were consistent with a skill-development model of the achievement/self-concept relationship.…

Offers a fifth-grade art lesson on lighthouses prompted by reading Arielle North Olson's "The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter" during a language-arts lesson. Reports that the students made a two-dimensional and a three-dimensional project. States that the students were excited about conveying their ideas using two different media. Explains…

Presents an interdisciplinary unit for fourth-grade students that compares the Tokaido Road in Japan to Interstate I-75 in Michigan; students learned about the history and geography of the Tokaido Road, examined the travel prints of Ando Hiroshige, and created their own travel prints and haikus. Gives three accompanying handouts. (CMK)

Describes how students in a course on adolescent literature read one book each week from an adolescent series related to a particular theme or time period. Shows how, by reading through a historical and cultural perspective, students learn about changing cultural attitudes and expectations toward adolescents. (SR)

Describes how the author used a young adult novel as a catalyst for discussing and investigating issues of social inequity in schools in her sixth-grade advanced language arts class. Describes how, by discussing how placement in advanced classes is determined, students learn to look more carefully and critically at how schools function in society,…

Shares the author's experiences as a third-grade teacher facing the dilemma of not having multiple copies of good literature available. Tells the story of how she developed effective instructional strategies for using the limited resources she was able to find. Describes how, despite less than ideal resources, children engaged in rich, thoughtful…

Discusses six books that offer beginning and veteran teachers classroom-tested ideas to help students read and write poetry and other literature, and interact with each other as they strive to understand and appreciate classic drama and novels. Notes four websites that are good sites for teaching poetry. (SR)

Realizing that many find museums intimidating or boring, museum educators and curators are using the World Wide Web to bring children and museums together. This article discusses Web access to selected museums; describes curriculum tie-ins for language arts, careers, mythology, Pueblo Indians; and provides an annotated bibliography of online art…

Describes the work of the Literacy Unit of the New Standards Project and uses that description to raise a broader set of issues about assessment in the K-12 English language arts. Notes that the performance assessment uses on-demand tasks lasting three to five days and involves the reading of a selection and writing of an essay and portfolios. (RS)

Investigates multiculturalism and education in Sweden through historical accounts, national course plans and guidelines, current theory, discussions with scholars, classroom observations, and 23 interviews of late-secondary/early postsecondary teachers of civics and Swedish language arts. (EMS)

Discusses the role of teachers in relation to parents. Suggests English educators have much to do in helping teachers learn how to inform parents about the best practices in English/language arts. Posits that teachers--preservice and practicing--must think about their roles differently to see themselves as advocates, not just for students, but for…

Describes how the author has her students create "found poems" and use them in conjunction with the students' own Readers/Writers Logs to help students make more of a text, own it, and discover the power of effective language. Includes instructions, student samples of found poems, and samples of the entire process. (SR)

Discusses a high school unit involving the cartoon characters "Beavis" and "Butt-head." Examines how social values and social conflicts affect and mirror language use. Describes Beavis and Butt-head projects, and objections to the unit. Argues that schools must embrace nonprint texts to help students become skilled, literate,…