Cites personal experience and research which supports peer group work in spelling, noting this method provides an opportunity to create linkages between reading, writing, and spelling instruction. Suggests strategies for implementing an individualized spelling program. (NH)

Describes how a seventh-grade teacher was able to devise a final examination that both reflected the goals of his process-oriented writing class and met the requirements of his school board. (ARH)

The author discusses the importance of the ability to think logically and solve problems with fundamental communication skills and with the ability to make decisions and adapt to change. Five thinking skills are examined: making decisions, planning and organizing, managing time, proofreading, and using proper language arts composition skills. (CT)

Maintains that teachers' use of classroom poetry provides opportunities for children to respond to ideas, feelings, and events. Examples illustrate how poetry offers readers/listeners invitations to participate: invitations to identify with others, gain new perspectives, retell stories, move with the sound of language, and respond to one's own…

Assesses the results of a study of spelling development on the junior high level. Concludes that spelling instruction in the upper grades is worthy of serious consideration. (NKA)

Discusses how elementary education gradually became a concern of the newly founded National Council of Teachers of English and how the Council in turn set about to influence elementary school language arts instruction during its first 50 years. (HTH)

Presents a historical perspective on child language research, termed "stingy" because of the lack of financial and institutional support. Speaks of the pioneers and present researchers who study child language as men and women of unusual determination and commitment. (HTH)

Reviews the history of International Literacy Day, begun in 1966 by UNESCO. Offers a collection of activities for schools wishing to commemorate the annual events on September 8th. Includes a brief annotated bibliography of instructional materials on the topic of illiteracy. (JDH)

A collection of 25 creative teaching tips includes ideas for teaching language arts and mathematics activities. Basic classroom organization techniques are suggested that will help the class run smoothly. These ideas are "teacher tested" and require little preparation and few materials. (DF)

Describes a language arts program in a Brooklyn, New York, public school in which children are questioned about their writing and their interests and allowed the freedom to put any interest on paper. Discusses the problems children encounter with such writing freedom, as well as the program's effectiveness. (HTH)

Describes four encounters--with a doctoral student, a primary grade teacher, a child, and a sociolinguist--to illustrate how teaching and learning, two separate ventures, are sometimes confused with one another. (HTH)

Results of a study that examined elementary teachers' beliefs related to curriculum integration in language arts and reading instruction showed that while teachers generally favor integrating language arts instruction, only minimal amounts of integration actually occur in their classrooms. (RM)

Describes a study of early readers to determine the linguistic and social interactions in the homes of early readers that seemed to make a difference in their reading. (HTH)

Reports preliminary findings from a study of kindergartners using LOGO in a computer laboratory. The study highlights the oral language that occurs while children produce computer graphics. (HTH)

Argues that James Moffett's influential model of a young writer's development is flawed, because it depicts beginning writers as being far more limited than they are. (HTH)