Offers and explains three pieces of advice for using the Internet in language arts classes: become a student (have students train teachers to use the Internet and have student interns in computer rooms to assist teachers); "morph into a cybrarian" (create an on-line library of World Wide Web links related to class projects); and empower students.…

The consistency between raters over three years of a high-stakes performance assessment was examined in two studies involving a total of approximately 3,000 students in grades three, five, and eight. Results show that raters in different years differ in severity, with raters in mathematics most consistent, and those in language arts least…

Describes vocabulary anchors, a graphic teaching strategy that helps young learners build the conceptual connections they need to understand informational (nonfiction) text. Discusses three essential understandings about early learners and concept development. Offers several examples of using vocabulary anchors in the classroom. (SR)

Argues that writers view grammar as a method of image construction. Describes image painting techniques from four grammatical perspectives: images of style, form, content, and convention. Describes how to teach these to eighth graders, offering numerous examples of class writing activities that use images as a doorway into the writer's art and…

Describes a two-year grammar sequence that the author uses with the seventh- and eighth-grade reading and writing program, in an approach that combines grammar instruction with what students are reading and writing. Describes how systematic grammar and usage instruction is connected to what students are reading and writing. (SR)

Reflects on three articles in this themed issue written by classroom teachers, describing how and why they incorporate the arts into the heart of their language arts instruction. Concludes that sign systems and the arts are powerful tools for thinking, whether they are used efferently, to represent specific information, or aesthetically, to create…

Inter-relationships of student attitudes toward science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies and student attitudes toward each individual subject were studied with data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (National Center for Education Statistics). There were significant relationships of student attitudes among the four…

Describes what teachers at four demonstration sites throughout Michigan do in their classrooms as they appropriate and incorporate the Michigan English Language Arts Framework standards into their daily classroom instruction. (SR)

Offers an overall perspective on how standards demonstration sites--places teachers come together to study standards and to grow in their teaching--have functioned in Michigan to help State Department of Education personnel, school district personnel, and university personnel collaborate to make the Michigan English Language Arts Framework…

Discusses 13 books for teachers that describe the what, how, and why of literature-based instruction in a variety of classrooms across the country. (SR)

Provides an annotated bibliography of research in the teaching of English published from July 1995 to December 1995. Includes annotations on books, articles, and dissertations. Divides the annotations into sections on historical studies, researcher education, teacher education, and writing. (TB)

A new teacher conducted a study of the short story through dialectical journals, linking her New York University expository writing students with inmate/students at Eastern Correctional Facility. Her experiences inspired the Goals 2000 Design for Differentiation Project and Socratic seminars for eighth-graders. (MLH)

Describes 30 children's books published in 1999 selected by the National Council of Teachers of English's Children's Literature Assembly as being notable for their potential to enhance language awareness and usage among children in grades K-8. (SR)

Presents results from an informal survey of 50 individuals of all ages about the Harry Potter phenomenon. Offers four suggestions for the English language arts classroom about a place "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" might have in a school's curriculum, dealing with transforming text, understanding genre, responding to texts with personal…

Describes how to develop a storytelling unit that will culminate in a festival in which all students can successfully participate and perform. Outlines the entire process, including research, "talk-abouts" and details, in-class activities to help students develop their tales, periodic evaluations, and the festival itself. (SR)