To provide a framework for secondary English program planning, the first half of this book defines the rationale and nature of an English curriculum, outlines content in language, literature, composition, reading, and speaking and listening on five levels, and offers procedural suggestions for developing a local English program. The last half of…

The intent of the inservice teacher education program described here is to allow teachers to focus on the possibilities that literature holds as a learning tool in children's education. Children's literature is interpreted here as a teaching device that contributes to both the child's skills in English language arts and reading and to his/her…

A study was conducted to determine the instructional effectiveness of supplementary computer assisted instruction (CAI) for high school equivalency training in the military. Thirty-two students in language arts classes and 32 students in mathematics classes were randomly divided into two groups: one receiving traditional instruction and the other…

A child's sense of involvement in story and desire to meaningfully experience literature must be sustained and promoted if the problem of "literacy" is to be resolved. Four activities, designed as a series of stages, can enhance the literary experience of children. The first activity is reading to children--exposing them to the language…

The seven articles in this journal issue deal with various aspects of reading instruction. The articles discuss the following topics: (1) results of a study conducted to gain information helpful to reading specialists and school administrators in implementing new Wisconsin state reading requirements; (2) the use of creative, reading-based language…

Information about the Riverside Instructional Support System (RISS)--a program designed to help elementary and middle school teachers and principals monitor basic skills in reading, language, and mathematics--is provided in this handbook. The first part of the handbook identifies the components of RISS, including primary, intermediate, and middle…

This final report describes the development and field evaluation of teacher training materials (for inservice workshops) and elementary school language arts materials. The basic goal of the training materials, called Teacher Development Packages (TDPs), was to provide teachers with the information and skills needed to utilize games and informal…

Thirteen of the 41 classroom observation dimensions derived from Medley's review of teacher effectiveness reports were scored on the Georgia Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness. Subjects were 53 fifth and sixth grade teachers in language arts and mathematics. The dimensions were: large group instruction; group size without adult supervision;…

Eighty-six journal references cite games to promote multicultural education in elementary and junior high schools. The games are divided into the following curriculum areas: (1) social studies, (2) reading, (3) math, (4) language arts, (5) speech, (6) science, (7) health and safety, (8) home economics, (9) physical education, (10) music, and (11)…

Three recent studies have focused upon prereading children's concepts of written language, what they think words are, and how they understand the concept of a word. These explorations of young children's early attempts to understand and produce writing have important implications for the preschool and primary classroom. R. D. Morris found that…

There are a number of reasons for using creative writing in elementary and secondary English curricula. When students practice using figurative and literal language, they improve their speaking abilities, and their language becomes more concrete, more explicit, more descriptive, and more interesting. Writing poems and short stories forces students…

Central to the process of reading comprehension is the use of questions and discussions in the classroom in order to direct and to evaluate a student's level of understanding of the materials read. Researchers estimate that approximately 70% of teaching involves the technique of questioning students. It is important that teachers do more than ask…

The Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP) was created to assist local schools and school districts in the development of curriculum improvement strategies. The process involves the use of "linkers," curriculum specialists who work with teams from the local level to ascertain needs, then connect the local teams with the research…

Student Team Learning instructional techniques (Teams-Games-Tournament, Student Teams-Achievement Divisions, and Jigsaw II) have been extensively researched in six-to-twelve-week classroom experiments and found to have many positive effects. This study examines the effects of the techniques when they are used as the primary instructional method…

THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES CANDIDATES WITH INFORMATION ON THE NATURE AND CONTENT OF THE TESTS, WHERE AND WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN, REGISTRATION PROCEDURES, HOW TO TAKE THE TESTS, AND MEANING AND USES OF TEST SCORES. THE TESTS MEASURE COMPETENCE IN THE AREAS OF LISTENING COMPREHENSION, SPEAKING, READING, WRITING, APPLIED LINGUISTICS, CIVILIZATION AND…