This paper presents 10 units in an introductory oral communication course which utilize instructional techniques necessary for student success in attaining 15 course objectives. Each unit consists of a goal statement and sections on objectives, content description, enabling activities, and instructional resources. The time frame for instruction…

Courtroom scenes in literature seem to have a special magic with students (probably because of all the trials seen on television, fiction or non-fiction). Students in a composition and literature course at the University of Nebraska, after reading Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," wrote "closing arguments" for either…

Magic can be used in the communication classroom as a means for introducing and/or illustrating the subject of persuasion. A magical effect which fools the class can lead to an early discussion of the need to be a critical consumer of persuasive messages. Magic can also be used to introduce the subject of ethics in persuasion. Each student can be…

A practicum used a program of high interest activities involving reading to address the problem of low reading comprehension grades and test scores of eight students in the second through fourth grades, who were an average of 1 year behind the norm in reading. The program's six units included a listening unit, computer technology unit, daily…

This study surveyed 110 preschool and kindergarten teachers in the greater Chicago area to determine the range of attitudes, knowledge, and practices related to computer usage in their classrooms. The results indicated that over 90 percent of the teachers had positive or very positive personal and professional attitudes toward computers, and that…

Writing, one of the three r's, must receive major emphasis in teaching-learning situations. Writing should permeate all curriculum areas. Both practical and creative writing need adequate emphasis. The student should be involved in selecting objectives, learning opportunities, and appraisal procedures. The writing teacher then becomes a guide,…

Fundamental differences exist between conceptualizing and operationalizing experiential education, in general, and graded speech communication internship classes-for-credit, in particular. Monitoring participation in experiential activities (including intercollegiate athletics, musical or stage production, publication of the campus newspaper, and…

Premised on the idea that spelling should be taught in the context of writing, this book is designed to enhance teachers' understanding of how their students learn to spell and to provide advice and practical activities for the day-to-day classroom program. The first part of the book provides specific information about management of the class…

This paper describes the efforts of the director of a composition program who is also a teacher of composition at an open admissions college to teach critical thinking by showing students how to use content rather than just acquire it. Applying Jean Piaget's learning theory to classroom teaching, the director attempts to create an active learning…

Although there are drawbacks to the case study method, using films presents opportunities for instructors to teach to the "higher" levels presented in learning objective taxonomies. A number of classifications of learning outcomes or objectives are well served by a teaching style employing the case approach. There seem to be as many…

Designed for a teacher of social studies at the secondary level (grades 7-12) this curriculum project introduces students to different aspects of Indian culture. Along with introductory elements, the project offers suggestions for assignments and projects for students to complete. The curriculum project begins with brief sections on…

This collection is the result of a program in self expression in which 30 fifth-grade students contemplated to music every other day throughout the school year--each child completed approximately 120 thinking or contemplation periods. The procedure used in the program operated in the following way: (1) 5 to 15 minutes of music played while the…

This briefing paper presents research on the importance of storytelling in human experience and explores the relevance of storytelling as an instructional tool in Pacific classrooms. The paper provides teachers with suggestions for getting started with storytelling in the classroom, such as: (1) introduce units about geography and people of the…

This paper discusses the use of contemporary legends in the teaching of language and culture, specifically in English-as-a-second-language. Contemporary legends are a type of folk narrative, but unlike folk tales, they are believed to be true. They usually concern ordinary people who are known to the narrator, occur in familiar settings, and are…

Intended for teachers of grades 5 and up, this unit provides 127 documents from California's history, 38 of which come from the California State Archives in Sacramento, one of the nation's largest and most sophisticated repositories for primary sources. The unit contains three elements: (1) a list of document descriptions, which includes a…