Examines the effects of a year-long program for using poetry daily in a second-grade classroom. Finds minor evidence of growth in students' concepts and attitudes about poetry (based on an objective survey instrument) but positive and lasting effects on children's attitudes (based on classroom observation of behavior). (RS)

Describes a study of listener reactions toward the oral language of nonnative English speakers. The potential for discreditation of such speakers by the listener and the need to emphasize oral language in the classroom are discussed. (19 references) (GLR)

Offers ways to teach students to understand and appreciate stories not just for their plots but for their stylistic features. Suggests that teachers demonstrate alternatives by rewriting passages in ways different from those chosen by the author, and asking students to describe the differences. Includes classroom examples. (PRA)

Describes how one writing teacher used the concept of the writer's commonplace book to encourage students to respond in writing to current cultural and news events. Shows how to set up separate files on computer networks containing reflections on news events, and argues that such a method is effective at inspiring writing. (HB)

Relates the viewpoints of child readers with respect to authors, narrators, illustrations,and text. Asserts that children can grasp the concept of author well before age five and that, for the child, the author "lives." (PRA)

Discusses the value of collaborative study and describes five undergraduate courses that supported collaborative study practices, four of which used a computer-based conferencing system and one that was paper-based. Highlights include student responses, assessment practices, and tutors' participation style. (LRW)

Finds the presentation assignment to be an effective method of providing students with the opportunity to apply the literacy skills they are learning in ways that are personally meaningful. Describes the presentation assignment framework and provides an example of an assignment that required students to analyze and interpret works of literature…

Examines the effect of group size in problem-based learning on the problem-solving skill, self-directedness, and technical knowledge of 72 students in a dental education program. Discusses results of pretests and posttests, students' reactions, and implications for instructional design. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/LRW)

Reflects on teaching Shakespeare in secondary school. Finds it is possible to see in a set of classroom practices an alternative model of reading, a notion of collaborative, negotiated making of meaning. Gives student responses as to why they would be studying Shakespeare. Reflects on their comments. (PA)

Reports on the construction and application of an innovative technique, the School Apperception Story Procedure (SASP). In this task, children select three school-thematic pictures and tell how these show ideal and worst types of school. Evaluates the SASP with data collected from a study of perceptions of school among children with and without…

Encourages students to slow down and to reflect upon what they had read. Focuses on the visual arts, particularly for their capacity to help move students from the concrete to the abstract. Notes that Lowry's (1993) novel "The Giver" particularly lent itself to this approach because its powerful visual imagery encourages readers to return to and…

To determine the effects of a service-learning experience, first year pharmacy students were surveyed on their perceptions regarding: (1) cultural diversity, the elderly, the poor, and the disabled; (2) community service and social support; and (3) their service learning assignment. The experience positively impacted their perceptions regarding…

Discusses the importance of aesthetic education in middle schools. Imagines a school as an aesthetic environment. Describes how several content area teachers have enhanced the learning of traditional content through aesthetic projects and activities. Notes students' enthusiastic response. Outlines a five-step approach to incorporate aesthetics…

Focuses on Likert-type questionnaires with "agree" or "approve" rating scales, and uses data from a think-aloud study involving nine university students to explore reactions to items involving incongruity. (Author/VWL)

Explores the kinds of literary understandings that become evident in African American second graders' unprompted oral and physical responses to "Malcolm X" and the cultural resources that children draw as they demonstrate these literary understandings. Concludes that discussion of multicultural literature can prompt the construction of…