This article discusses how a social studies teacher taught her middle school students about the components of an opera and prepared her students for putting on an opera. The development of the opera and how the opera training related to the social studies, language arts, and music curriculum are addressed. (Contains 1 reference.) (CR)

Describes an integrated thematic unit designed for readers in grades 8 to 10. Contains a four- to six-week plan that encompasses reading strategies, inquiry projects, and assessment tools and includes an activity map (based on Jennifer Armstrong's "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the…

Second-graders and a new teacher came up with an approach that showed him how much fun reading can be. The students voted on reading privileges; peer pressure maintained discipline; students shared books that their parents had read to them and invited "guest readers" to read with their class. (MLF)

Describes a strategy whereby kindergarten children recorded acts of kindness on slips of paper and put the slips into a "Kindness Jar." Found that children used slips of paper recording the acts as tokens of appreciation for their friends, to recognize instances of conflict resolution, to report on collaboration, and to emphasize teamwork. (KB)

Explains how the author teaches her first graders to write and the steps that go into her writing program. Suggests that whatever children can talk about, they can write about, and whatever they can write about, they can read about. Organizes her literacy program according to this. Presents eight oral language activities that are adapted from…

Outlines an interview with Mark Ahlness, a third-grade teacher at Arbor Heights Elementary School in Seattle, Washington, and Jean Carmody, an art teacher at two elementary schools in Cranston, Rhode Island. Describes their collaborative project called the Earth Day Groceries Project. Explains that in this Internet project, students decorate…

Notes that teachers at every grade level have discovered that engaging children in book making has the power to motivate even the most reluctant writers. Notes that most curricula for teaching writing ignore the role of visual images in the writing process. Contends that by creating a combination of graphics and written text, children engage in a…

Presents several points to consider when children are taken outside for class. Tips relate to having clear expectations, practicing and modeling activities, and communicating strategically. (DDR)

Examines the degree to which United States adult literacy programs use materials and activities reflective of real-life literacy functions and degree to which relationships between teachers and students reflect mutuality and shared power. Finds the majority of programs involve students in literacy activities that do not reflect real-life literacy…

Describes the Teachers College Writing Project and the author's school's involvement in implementing a classroom storytelling project. Notes that in the process of developing ideas, they found themselves discussing a theoretical framework. Concludes that by supporting the revelation of students' stories, educators promote the well-being of the…

Considers that the author has a responsibility to help her students understand the situations of others. Wants students to try and get "inside the skins" of people so different from them. Describes how her students research, write, edit, rewrite, redo, and finally publish their original pieces in conjunction with each study they undertake. (SG)

Lists several reasons why having students "type their talk" within electronic discussions is important. Presents some practical suggestions of things learned over the years to get students to "type their talk" and enable their words to bring meaning to the electronic discussion of short fiction. (SG)

Describes a 4-week unit of study that focuses on Shakespeare's "The Tempest," a text that has been especially controversial in today's climate of increased multicultural awareness. Involves students in a larger conversation about the possibilities for reading and interpreting literature and prepares them to write mature analyses of the…

Considers student response to nonfiction Vietnam War literature and discusses why students should study Vietnam War nonfiction. Presents strategies for teaching nonfiction Vietnam War literature. Presents follow-up research and writing activities that are designed to enable students to connect reading, writing, and thinking. Concludes that the…

Investigates the interactions of 16 first-grade children during one academic year as they participated in literacy events with their peers. Suggests that issues related to peer acceptance and reading competence complicate children's interactions during collaborative literacy events. Presents concepts critical to understanding how children with…