This paper examines five factors that should be considered in planning an open education program in an English classroom: (1) The physical layout of the room should be carefully planned to support the learning needs and characteristics of students. (2) Three types of learning activities should be provided: activities for the entire class, for…

This book describes an approach to teaching writing as an ongoing learning process shared by teacher and students. The method, which features multiple options for both teacher and students, is suited to a developmental, individualized approach. The emphasis is on inductive, dialectical methods in which teacher and students question, probe, debate,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 19 dissertations deal with a variety of topics, including the following: the impact of Konstantin Stanislavski's ideas on motion picture acting in the United States and their significance for oral interpretation; the empathic…

This paper describes an interdisciplinary high school course, "Cultural Diversity in American Life," taught by an English teacher, a social studies teacher, and an art teacher. Designed to help students understand and accept differences in culture, the course consists of units on the black American, the American Indian, the Jewish American, and…

The developmental writing program at Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas Campus, deals with three concerns common to developmental writing teachers at two-year colleges. First, since most developmental writing teachers are unable to empathize with, or understand, their students, the Manassas program begins with exercises which acquaint…

Five articles list and discuss materials helpful to the teacher of ethnic literature. Separate articles discuss books about Mexican Americans for students in first grade through sixth grade; basic critical materials useful to anyone wishing to teach or to study seriously the literature of black America; materials which are appropriate for four…

The articles in this publication deal with English language study and other aspects of the English curriculum. Topics include the role of English in the secondary curriculum, a whole school language policy, information on language and language acquisition published in the past ten years that should be incorporated into language study courses, an…

English teachers typically do not employ the techniques reported by research as best able to develop students' language abilities. Research studies have revealed that there is little value in engaging students in the formal study of grammar and have indicated that language learning should not be fragmented. Many techniques and instructional…

This publication describes classroom activities that English teachers can use in helping junior high school students to explore individual career goals. Designed to increase students' awareness of occupations related both directly and indirectly to English skills, the activities are organized into four sections: (1) Who Am I? (2) What Are the Life…

Physical Verbalization (PV) is a program designed to encourage language/speech development by combining movement with appropriate verbal patterns. Using the normal developmental stages of listening/watching, imitating, and initiating, the program allows the child to "play" with standard English in a nonthreatening and rhythmic fashion and to be…

This issue presents an overview of research in computer-based language instruction using the PLATO IV computer system. The following articles are presented: (1) "Language Study and the PLATO system," by R. Hart; (2) "Reflections on the Use of Computers in Second-Language Acquisition," by F. Marty; (3) "Computer-Based…

Selected demographic variables, Nelson-Denny Reading Test Scores, and grades were obtained to establish a profile of Miami-Dade Community College's Learning Support Center's (LSC's) reading and English students and to evaluate the LSC's courses in terms of student outcomes. The study of 6,108 students enrolled in LSC's English 179 and Reading 179…

More than 300 ideas are offered in this book as effective ways of using the newspaper for teaching in various subject areas. The first portion of the book contains a message to the teacher, a pretest for students in grades 5 through 12, and a section on introducing students to newspaper components and terminology. The major part of the book…

This guide has been designed for use in teaching study skills to junior high school students, grades seven through nine. It contains lessons developed and refined over a three-year period in the skills areas of listening, scheduling and task analysis, memory, notetaking, and using a textbook. Each skills area is developed in the context of a…

Produced in response to a school board's directive to develop a plan for implementing a standardized curriculum in the basic subjects on a district-wide basis, this instructional packet is intended for use by teachers of a course in functional basic English skills for eleventh grade students. The packet contains preparatory sheets, activity…