Many artists visit national parks to draw, paint and take photographs of some of the most amazing scenery on earth. Raw nature is one of the greatest inspirations to an artist, and artists can be credited for helping inspire the government to create the National Park System. This article features Thomas Moran (1837-1926), one of the artists who…

The purpose of this article is to explore the motivation for and content of young adult author's blogs and the potential use of these blogs for teaching and learning the English language arts and 21st-century literacy skills. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Pressured to comply with state and district mandates, teachers may follow scripted, back-to-basics lessons and, as a result, feel frustrated about the assaults on their professionalism and the prevalence of "test-prep pedagogy." As they experience relentless pressure to improve test scores, teachers face a constant challenge to maintain…

To help underscore the importance of giving the arts an integral place in the literacy continuum of secondary school language arts, I immersed myself in a careful reading of twenty teacher candidates' transactions in the art of body biography for novel study for intermediate students (grades 7-10). Coming together in groups of five, the teacher…

Despite their experiences with a cartoon sponge, most elementary students know little about the diverse inhabitants of coral reefs. Therefore, with vivid photography and video, diverse coral reef inhabitants were brought to life for the author's fifth-grade students. Students shared their knowledge in language arts and even explored coral reefs in…

This article explores how immigrant experiences are represented in the narratives of three graphic novels published in the last decade: Tan's (2007) "The Arrival," Kiyama's (1931/1999) "The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924," and Yang's (2006) "American Born Chinese." Through a theoretical lens informed by…

This paper outlines a four-year study of a preservice education course based on a socio-constructivist research framework. The preservice English Language Arts course focuses on critical literacy and teaching for social justice while employing digital technologies. The research study examines two concepts across all aspects of the course: 1) new…

The study evaluates the relationship between middle school principals' leadership characteristics and academic achievement of African American male students in grades 6, 7, and 8 in a large urban school district. Academic achievement is typically defined as the cognitive knowledge, skills, and abilities that are measured by achievement tests. The…

Purpose, Scope, and Method of Study. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the curricular and instructional approaches of 3 Oklahoma elementary schools that demonstrated success in promoting and/or sustaining improvement in reading achievement. This qualitative study relied on a multiple case design utilizing participants based on…

The California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) plays an important role in California's public school accountability program. Beginning in grade 10, students have multiple chances to pass the mathematics and English Language Arts components of this exam. If they do not pass both components by the end of grade 12, they will not receive a high…

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is committed to providing the highest quality of education to its students. One way to provide a quality education is with an effective curriculum that reflects high standards and expectations. Thus, DoDEA has developed rigorous content standards aligned with national guidelines and standards.…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Norton High School Early College Early College Program on academic measures for students at Norton High School. Measures of achievement include the results of the English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Social Science, and Science portions of the California Standards Test (CST), Student…

The goal of this study was to examine perceptions, attitudes, and reported practices of a group of middle level Language Arts teachers concerning sexuality-related issues. Through interviews with 15 teachers, the study found that sexuality was in one sense pervasive, as it came up frequently in the teachers' practice. Yet at the same time the…

This longitudinal study had three objectives: (a) to identify different profiles of second-year middle school students (Grade 8) in terms of academic, emotional, and social adjustment; (b) to test the contribution of worries at the end of Grade 6 to distinguish these profiles; and (c) to examine the moderating effect of mastery (MG) and…

The purpose of this study was to determine how contributing to a class wiki affected the learning of pre-service teachers enrolled in a language arts methods class. Participants included 37 preservice teachers enrolled in three sections of a field-based language arts methods class during two semesters. Data collection included online observations…