This booklet, intended for use by educators and by workplace and community organizers, introduces women who have been featured on U.S. postage stamps as well as a few of the women who clearly merit such honor in the future. Postage stamps featuring women have been relatively few and far between and have only skimmed the surface of U.S. women in…

Noting that there are many strategies a teacher can use to increase motivation and confidence of students who avoid reading, this paper discusses the strategy of using repeated readings through audio support. After an overview, the paper discusses setting up the program. Three scenarios are presented: a student who does not like to read, a student…

This paper presents creative drama activities based on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" for use in ninth-grade English classrooms. The activities are divided into sections on improvisation, pantomime, image-making and creative drama, reader's theater, drama scenes, interior monologue, and producing plays. Each section of the paper…

Use of English-language mystery movies is recommended to teach English-as-a-Second-Language listening and speech skills outside an English-language environment. A variety of issues are discussed, including the following: presenting the film in segments for more effectiveness; presenting students with activities that develop specific aspects of the…

This paper describes an assignment that is used in a hybrid speech course to test students' knowledge as well as work toward more application of the interpersonal, small group, and conflict aspects of the course. Discussion is scheduled after the lectures that cover those aspects, and a one-day lecture on the topic of persuasion and sources…

Connecting the curriculum of the K-12 classroom with the "curriculum of the living room," this book helps teachers and library media specialists maintain a viable program of visual (or media) literacy by presenting background information on the visual literacy movement and dozens of effective strategies and classroom activities that are ready to…

This collection of recipes is intended to assist teachers in using food in the classroom to enhance the study of Native American people. Several concepts are identified to guide teachers in developing instructional units centering around food as a means of understanding the Native American culture: (1) the impact of physical environment and…

Based on the belief that teacher educators can no longer be satisfied to teach about whole language without teaching through whole language, this article presents five major premises of whole language and then describes several strategies by which this philosophy has been implemented in university classrooms. The premises are that learning happens…

Contemporary learning theory supports the use of writing as a cognitive tool to enhance retention and assist students to understand abstract mathematical concepts. Using writing activities in the intermediate grade and secondary classroom enhances the learning of mathematics and is a way of making mathematics more reachable to those students who…

This booklet presents selected activities from elementary, middle, junior high, and senior high schools In Indiana, intended to encourage students to read. It offers ideas for 11 community activities (including guest readers, nursing home reading, and a young author celebration), 14 continuous activities (such as the great book graffiti wall and…

Intended to be read aloud to children ages six to nine and read alone by children nine and up, this book presents 24 versions of the Cinderella folktale from around the world, thus representing a broad range of cultures, geographical areas, styles, and variations on the basic theme. The folktales in the book are intended to enhance children's…

This curriculum guide provides the means for elementary students to develop an understanding and appreciation of drama as an integral part of the educational process. It concentrates on the process rather than the product of dramatic art, and provides a sequential progression of ideas, exercises, and strategies which can be adapted by teachers to…

Designed to help teachers plan focused field trips, this guide was developed by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois, and parts of it focus specifically on the Field Museum. The overall thrust of the guide, however, is on helping educators to better utilize museums in general; the guide should prove helpful to any teacher…

Children's literature, widely used with elementary English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students, can be adapted to teach literacy skills to adult ESL learners as well. Children's books often have captivating story lines and beautiful illustrations, and many have universal appeal and address mature themes and topics. Its successful use in adult ESL…

It is a good thing to demolish "magical thinking" if it refers to the view of language for which words have fixed, inevitable meanings. Words are often deprived of their meanings and reduced to verbal noises, producing involuntary responses like knee-reflexes. Various critics have discussed and written about the magical aspects of…