Designed to grow into a 2-inch three-ring binder, this handbook is part of a series for teachers of grades 6-8 language arts. The handbook aims to clarify some points, to provide a framework for new teachers and to give veteran teachers some new ideas. Volume I contains activities to use in the classroom, and Volume II is "all about…

Based on an 18th century poem (actually, a song originally) about the Boston Tea Party, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that taxation of the American colonists by the British led to the American Revolution; all eras have protest poetry or songs; and students can perform and analyze old literature. The main…

Based on William Golding's novel "Lord of the Flies," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that, on a literal level, the novel deals with what happens to a group of boys stranded on an island; and that on a symbolic level, it investigates what happens to civilized people when the structures of civilization…

This teaching unit is a literature unit that can be used in social studies to study the westward movement of the United States. The unit identifies educational objectives and lists read alouds (fiction and nonfiction). The series is based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder novels for young people and Wilder's own life experiences. The unit presents…

Based on short stories and novels, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that in the 19th century, the American frontier brought both solutions and problems; and fiction writers as well as documentarians have portrayed the American frontier. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing essays…

Based on H.G. Wells' novel "War of the Worlds" and the reaction to Orson Wells' 1938 adaptation for radio, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that literature originally created in one medium is often adapted to another medium; and that technology can make the unreal seam real and can otherwise confuse…

Based on the 1998 Arkansas State Language Arts Framework, this framework lists benchmarks for kindergarten through grade four in writing; reading; and listening, speaking, and viewing. The writing section's stated standards are to help students employ a wide range of strategies as they write; use different writing process elements appropriately to…

This report describes a program for increasing students' language arts skills by incorporating modeling and grade appropriate comprehension activities. The targeted population consisted of Kindergarten, 4th, and 6th grade students in a rural middle class community located in central Illinois. The problems with language arts skills were documented…

The purpose of this research is to tailor the design of information and communications technology (ICT) training material to the needs of Chinese language arts teachers such that the training they receive will be conducive to effective integration of ICT into instruction. Eighteen experienced teachers participated in a Delphi-like survey that…

Fairy tales are stories either created or strongly influenced by oral traditions. Their plots feature stark conflicts between good and evil, with magic and luck determining the usually happy endings. While each culture and geographic region of the world has its own body of folk tales and fairy tales, certain themes and motifs tend to be repeated…

In this colorfully illustrated kindergarten activity, students read (and re-read) "My Blue Suitcase" (Sharon Katz), as an introduction to traveling. The book uses all of the basic forms of transportation and forms the transportation lesson outline. The activity gives the students the task of learning about each mode of transportation:…

A great companion to the original "Social Studies through Children's Literature," this teacher's handbook gives theoretical support for integrating social studies and literature disciplines and serves as an instructional guide for classroom use. The guide is divided into two parts: (1) "Children's Literature in the Social Studies…

Starting with the 1997-1998 school year, the Direct Instruction Reading/Language Arts Program was implemented in three elementary schools in a northwest urban public school system as a 3-year pilot study to improve the academic performance of at-risk students. Direct Instruction (DI) is aimed at providing effective learning for low-achieving…

In accordance with RSA (Revised Statutes Annotated) 193-C relative to the New Hampshire Educational Improvement and Assessment Program, the purpose of this framework is to serve: (1) as the basis for the development of assessment instruments to be administered, statewide, at the end-of-grades 3, 6, and 10; and (2) as a guide for making local…

This book provides 108 activities to stimulate students to think about their own involvement in their education. Students must be able to think about and apply the information they acquire in the classroom to their lives outside of school. It presents practical information on metacognitive theory and reading and studying skills. The ready-to-use…