A daily dictation period provides continuous reinforcement of spelling and writing mechanics for elementary school students. (DD)

Looks theoretically at the topic of authenticity, arguing that it is important to get beneath labels and the surface of classroom activities in order to create instruction that is authentic. Uses hermeneutics to examine authenticity as a perspective to help think through important issues. (SR)

Teachers are provided with 16 activity MENUS (Motivating and Exciting but Not Unmanageable Strategies) that introduce, extend, and refine important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. (IAH)

Offers rationales for teaching cartoons and poetry together, and describes classroom activities involving cartoon poetry. (SR)

Demonstrates how drama and literature can be used together through the Living Newspaper Theatre, a specific form of government-subsidized drama created in the 1930s. Offers guidelines for a living newspaper play and includes a script. (RS)

Discusses beliefs about language arts standards of members of the Elementary Section Steering Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Discusses key assumptions underlying the International Reading Association/NCTE language arts standards and relates to a cycle of learning. (SR)

Describes the uses of riddles with elementary school students to create interest, develop literacy skills, promote learning in the content areas, and have fun. Notes 16 books of riddles. (SR)

Describes the 2000 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, the largest poetry event in North America. Notes the festival was designed to create opportunities for personal communication between poets and teachers, who share so many similar concerns for the future of language arts education. (RS)

The outgoing editorial team of Language Arts reflect on their insights about writing a manuscript for submission to a journal. They focus on patterns in the suggestions of reviewers and in their editorial letters over a five year period of time. They then discuss the range of decisions to consider related to planning and writing a draft,…

School leaders are increasingly being asked, whether by rhetoric or policy, to measurably improve student achievement. The resultant need to assist school leaders in their ability to improve teaching and learning for all students in their schools led to the establishment of the National Institute of School Leadership's (NISL's) Executive…

Colleges and employers are growing increasingly concerned that high school students lack the knowledge and skills needed for success after graduation. To find out whether the expectations of the Central Region states match the expectations of colleges and the workplace, state standards for what students should know and be able to do in English…

This study was designed to determine the impact of increased quality Physical Education time on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) standardized scores. The MCAS test was given to 311 fourth-grade students in two Southeastern communities in Massachusetts, within a two-month period in April and May of 2001. The participants were…

Learning social studies curriculum can present challenges for English-language learners (ELLs). The language used to present concepts is often decontextualized and abstract, making it difficult for these students to understand the content and have successful learning experiences. In this article, the authors describe strategies elementary teachers…

Making connections is always an important task for teachers. Science teachers are encouraged to connect new learning with students' prior knowledge, learning with student interests, learning with cultural experiences, and classroom activities across academic disciplines. Strategies that facilitate these connections help teachers enrich and enhance…

During the 2004-05 school year, Parkview Elementary School experienced a dramatic shift from a focus on authentic assessment and responsive, individualized teaching to a one-size-fits-all approach to literacy assessment and instruction. In an effort to boost test scores, the district mandated the use of Open Court Reading, a scripted language arts…