Describes a team-taught unit of study for 7th and 8th graders that used children's and young adult literature to integrate language arts and social studies to teach students about the United States Civil War. Offers an overview of the unit, describes a typical class period, discusses the role of reflective journals, and offers student and teacher…

Describes a project in which students in a college survey class on young adult literature were paired with students in a high school English class in a "buddy journal" project. Shows examples of this writing and of the assignments which used Howard Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences to offer students multiple paths for responding to…

A monolingual English-speaking teacher and bilingual researchers analyzed the discursive practices in a third-grade classroom that affected the literacy learning opportunities available to a monolingual Spanish-speaking migrant student. Literacy learning opportunities were shaped and influenced by the specific contexts in which the student acted…

Discusses interdisciplinary instruction at the high school level, examines the imperatives of statewide reform in Kentucky, and outlines how and when interdisciplinary instruction improves learning. Describes an interdisciplinary learning project taught in secondary methods classes at Eastern Kentucky University in which students experience…

Observes a 9-year-old third-grade student at home and at school. Reveals the disparity between Laura's highly contextualized knowledge of science and the school science curriculum. States that teachers do not value Laura's strong observational and analytical proclivities and that both she and her teachers think of Laura as an academic failure. (SR)

Presents a selective annotated bibliography of recent research in the teaching of English. Offers 45 items (published in the first six months of 1998), divided into the following sections: arts in the language arts; bilingual education; discourse processes; family and workplace literacy; professional development; reading; teaching and learning of…

Describes the Linguistic Affirmation Program (LAP), a comprehensive nonstandard language awareness program for students not proficient in Standard American English, that facilitates the acquisition of Standard American English without devaluing students' home language and culture. Notes its six research-based critical instructional approaches.…

Four 8th graders with learning disabilities were taught to recruit assistance from peers during cooperative learning activities in two general classrooms. Training consisted of modeling, role playing, corrective feedback, and praise. Recruitment training increased the productivity and accuracy with which the students completed their language arts…

Strategies to engage middle school students in listening to stories, retelling them, and improving their communication and social skills are offered. For students with disabilities, teachers should adapt strategies, keep individualized education program goals in mind, and focus on activities that are meaningful to the student. (DB)

A junior high school English teacher explains how she managed to teach gifted and talented students in a mixed-ability classroom. She discovered the importance of taking "baby steps" (allowing independent study), varying learning activities, raising the bar for everyone, and discovering her students' passions. (MLH)

Discusses 11 books that present thought-provoking ideas to help classroom teachers, parents, and administrators understand the world of developing literacy. Addresses a variety of professional books ranging from texts that focus on issues of race, to books that take up emergent literacy, to texts on beginning teaching. (SR)

Argues that "love of reading" should be listed as the top goal of the English curriculum, but that teaching the classics has the opposite effect. Argues that reading and analytical skills can be taught using contemporary teenage fiction that holds students' interest, helps them feel understood, and teaches them about life. Lists numerous books…

Discusses "Smoke Signals" (a 1998 award-winning film) and "The Owl's Song" (a 1974 novel), both of which feature young adult American Indian protagonists. Suggests instructional strategies for teaching these works in tandem. Argues that teaching these works informs students about relevant literary, historical, social, and cultural topics in ways…

Describes a seventh and eighth grade social studies unit on the Civil War that incorporates language arts. The unit addresses the four levels of perspective development. Aims to provide students with a better understanding of the Civil War and develop students' personal perspectives. (CMK)

Examined the performance of K-12 students on criterion-referenced reading, language arts, and mathematics tests and the relationship of those results to teacher performance measures by principals, students, and teacher self-evaluations using a 360 degree feedback approach. Results for 988 students, 35 teachers, and 4 principals show that student…