A plea for the elimination of required instruction in cursive script from the elementary school curriculum. Difficulties of learning cursive are described as a handicap to student development of composition skills. Greater legibility and comparable speed of printing are cited. (BF)

Citizen band radios keep trucking across the American scene, and no doubt your students are caught in the folk craze. Provides some suggestions for channeling students' interests with a unit on CBs. (Author/RK)

A study of eight language arts textbooks to determine how well they reflect recent findings regarding the writing process. (DD)

Suggests ways to improve students' visual literacy through the study of paintings and photographs. (DD)

An example of the use of the cluster approach in a reading/language arts program for gifted first-graders (in a classroom with peers of varying ability) illustrates how this approach allows gifted students to work with others who have similar abilities and provides time-saving opportunities for teachers and modeling opportunities for non-gifted…

Defines communication apprehension as fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person, and discusses its causes, consequences, and prevention. (SKC)

Explores the different perspectives classroom teachers and researchers bring to any collaboration, noting that the relationship between the two should be symbiotic and that the problems of practice should inform the questions that researchers ask, while the issues addressed in research should help teachers obtain a clearer perspective on teaching.…

Argues that problems in teaching grammar stem from failure to help students develop, as opposed to memorize, grammatical concepts. Recommends discussion of style and vocabulary, student stylistic analysis of their own writing, and deciphering syntactic use, not just definition, of parts of speech. Suggests that such training should begin in…

This primary unit uses rainbows to provide young children inspiration for learning in the areas of language arts, science, art, social studies, and math. (MT)

Discusses the rich potential of Logo (a computer programing system for children) and particularly LogoWriter (its word processor) as learning tools in the language arts. Cautions against their use as rote exercises. (SR)

Explains the concept of book webbing, and provides an annotated bibliography of 20 publications which discuss or show how to incorporate children's literature in both the language arts and content areas of the elementary school curriculum using the webbing diagram and process. (13 references) (MES)

Maintains that poetry can be used in a variety of ways to stimulate and enliven the early childhood curriculum. (BB)

Describes how study of folklore can be integrated into all aspects of curriculum and grade levels to foster awareness of roots and sense of home and community. Suggests topics for research in various areas of American folklore requiring student use of all language arts. Provides 13 annotated student references. (NEC)

The article outlines a classroom-tested holistic language arts curriculum for the junior high resource room. The program covers reading, vocabulary building, comprehension, use of visual aid strategies, use of auditory/linguistic comprehension strategies, writing, listening, and speaking. Advantages of the curriculum include individualization,…

Recommends five process-oriented strategies for teaching vocabulary: (1) teach words in context; (2) move from known to unknown; (3) group and categorize items; (4) relate content to students' interests; and (5) provide for constant review. (ARH)