Based on Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Ben Franklin is known, among other things, for his wit and wisdom; that Franklin published an almanac for 25 years; and he scattered aphorisms throughout the almanac. The main activity in the lesson is for students…

This book aims to help teachers bring literature to the classroom as a vehicle for language and concept development, creative expression, and the development of higher thinking skills while promoting the joy of reading. Most examples in the book were selected to make Latino authors more visible to teachers, as well as to provide experiences of…

Writing is one of the most complex activities children engage in during their school careers. This book provides teachers with the knowledge and ideas they need to increase their effectiveness when instructing students in writing. The book blends together practical, easy-to-implement, classroom-tested lessons and activities based on research. It…

This guide shares information about the South Carolina Curriculum Standards with parents. The standards outline state requirements for children's learning, and what students across the state should be able to do in certain subjects. The guide lists seven key reasons for parents to be aware of the new curriculum standards, and then presents a…

This book sheds prescriptive teaching for listening to children. It is the work of an experienced, practicing teacher with a sound interpretation of first-grade children, giving insight and examples of children and a teacher learning together. This second edition incorporates stories from the author/educator and learning from her new experiences…

This revised language arts curriculum framework lists the content standards for writing; reading; and listening, speaking, and viewing. The writing section's standards are designed to help students employ a wide range of strategies as they write; use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate to different audiences for a…

This book brings together the expertise of university faculty with that of National Board Certified teachers to offer a blueprint for preparing teachers to achieve National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. The approach enlists the collaboration of university educators and professional staff development personnel.…

The Cinderella story resonates with its audience--500 versions of the tale have been told in Europe alone, and related stories are told in cultures all over the globe. In America too, the classic tale, re-envisioned in print and other media, continues to be popular. What changes does the Cinderella tale undergo when it is transported from one…

Intended to help library media specialists, technology educators, and curriculum planning teams identify where specific information and technology competencies might best fit into the assessed content areas of the curriculum, this document presents a matrix that identifies the correlation between Wisconsin's Information and Technology Literacy…

The New York State Rural Education Advisory Committee conducted an intergenerational project in which rural schools and agencies/facilities serving older persons were brought together to help young children build the reading skills necessary for academic success. Intergenerational programs such as this can help schools reach higher standards while…

This study examined preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about their elementary language arts teaching after being prepared in a Professional Development School (PDS). Participants were preservice teachers in the first semester of their field-based senior year of teacher preparation, all of whom were placed in one of several PDS clusters.…

This book was developed for two reasons: to show teachers, administrators, and parents how to have a successful year-long writing program; and to demonstrate that a valuable literacy tool is not expensive when it utilizes reading-readiness materials already in use. Intended primarily for K-1 teachers, the book contends that students can be…

This lesson offers students experience in making historical meaning from eyewitness accounts that present a range of different perspectives. Students begin with a case study in working with alternative reports of a single event: the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. First, they compare two newspaper reports on the fire, then two memoirs of the fire…

This manual documents the technical aspects of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). In May 1999, Massachusetts public school students in grades 4, 8, and 10 participated in the second annual administration of the MCAS tests in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science & Technology. This report provides information…

This paper reviews the research on use of American Sign Language in elementary classes that do not include children with hearing impairment and also reports on the use of the manual sign language alphabet in a primary class learning the phonetic sounds of the alphabet. The research reported is overwhelmingly positive in support of using sign…