Argues that conversations about books should be everyday occurrences in classrooms. Suggests that busy reading teachers try retellings. Includes a sample lesson. (RS)

Presents a profile of author Bonnie Pryor. Discusses her writing processes, characterization, and her advice for young people who want to become writers. Presents an annotated list of 22 picture books and chapter books by Pryor. Presents "book extensions" (class activities) based on two of Pryor's books. (RS)

Uses the following National Council of Teachers of English Guidelines to show that media literacy works in the classroom and to show it works when incorporated into the conventional English classroom: (1) students need to construct meaning through different media; (2) students need to analyze their transactions with media texts; and (3) students…

Argues that knowing which font is best for any given task begins with knowing what groups of fonts are good for copy, headlines, and display uses. Discusses seven typographic groups, and offers 10 important points to avoid problems with readability. Includes two assignments. (SR)

Argues that often poor publications design is created through the misuse and abuse of type. Offers 13 suggestions to improve readability and help avoid the creation of poorly designed publications. (SR)

Presents a case study for use in business communication classes to help students understand and learn both the context and the strategies for communication with business and management. Deals with communications gone wrong between a company and a very important potential client and what might be done salvage the contract. Includes correspondence…

Presents a case study for use in business communication classes to help students understand and learn both the context and the strategies for communication with business and management. Deals with responding to a customer complaint, including customer service philosophy, specific product information, and the fine line between sympathy with the…

Argues that discourse knowledge (knowledge readers have of the way a text or story is organized) can be taught from the earliest grades using authentic contexts and quality children's literature as well as the children's own writing. Suggests specific books and specific strategies to foster the students' knowledge of three patterns of…

Argues that mental timelines for learning history are analogous to mental mapping for learning geography: both visually represent abstract concepts. Describes the construction of a classroom timeline and activities for fifth- and sixth-grade students that incorporate the use of timelines. Notes reasonable expectations for student progress at this…

Discusses Thomas Bailey Aldrich's "The Story of a Bad Boy" (written in 1868), one of the first children's books in the United States to introduce realism to children's literature. Describes the book's appealing qualities, and Aldrich's life and career. Lists classic elements of the book, and suggests six activities for stimulating…

Argues that skepticism is the force that keeps inquiry in motion. Describes how two fourth-grade classes' ongoing investigations of birds fostered a skeptical stance. Relates stories from these classrooms to illustrate three strategies that support learning to be skeptics: examining knowledge in context; challenging the assumptions of models; and…

Proposes a turn toward "social-process rhetorical inquiry" in composition, a turn that requires further pedagogical adaptations of cultural studies methodologies in writing classrooms. Notes that the social-process heuristic is based on a cyclical model of writing processes, a model comprising cultural production, contextual…

Argues for a Campaign Planning Course in the undergraduate public relations major. Discusses nine course objectives. Describes five phases of campaign planning and implementation, how the phase approach includes important course topics, and how it fulfills course objectives. Describes how student groups work with actual clients throughout the…

Discusses the factors involved in determining text difficulty. Discusses some of the reasons children choose to read certain materials, such as personal connections, culture and language, interest, and expertise. Illustrates these factors through descriptions of work with individual students, classroom observations, and research on students'…

Describes a business communication class assignment that helps students discover the assumptions and expectations of business culture, and develop the skills needed for the world of work in at least four areas: team skills; time and project management skills; use of technology to research, prepare, and present the project; and networking with…