This report describes the PlayWrite Program, which was developed in the Montville Township School District, New Jersey, to encourage children in grades K-6 to write. The primary objectives of the program are to increase students' motivation to write; to improve their writing skills through the process of brainstorming, composing, revising, and…

A study examined the views of English/Language Arts teachers in Maryland high schools with respect to mass media consumption education. On the basis of taped interviews and completed questionnaires from 104 teachers (a 39% response) from 26 public and private high schools in 9 counties and Baltimore City, most teachers indicated they did not know…

To measure the effectiveness of the computer based instructional system designed to develop the writing and reading skills of kindergarten and first grade students, Writing to Read (WTR), which was implemented by three Kettering (Ohio) Elementary Schools in l988 and three more in 1989, was examined in five areas related to the program. Results…

The primary purpose of the South Carolina Statewide Testing Program is to assess the achievement of fourth, seventh, and tenth grade public school students. Test results provide educators with information which facilitates the decision-making process. For the second time, Form U of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills was the instrument used to…

The first of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for seventh grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…

The second of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for eighth grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…

The third of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for ninth grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the guide…

Intended for use by curriculum specialists, administrators, resource teachers, classroom teachers, and teachers of special reading programs, this guide for language arts in grades 9 through 12 offers general suggestions and specific activities for integrating the language arts. Skill areas covered include (1) imagining, (2) describing, (3)…

The language across the curriculum approach explored in this book implies the restructuring of curricula away from so-called "coverage" of content and toward creation of opportunities for learning in discussions, games, and in-class writing projects. Following an introduction and overview in chapter one, chapter two summarizes and…

The IBM Writing to Read program for children in kindergarten and first grade uses computers with voice output and IBM selectric typewriters to encourage writing and hence reading development. A study examined whether increased writing activity without the use of the technology would produce similar gains in reading. A classroom from the IBM…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 15 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) effects of text on sentence understanding; (2) the effects of a visual literacy program on concept development and communication skills; (3) the effectiveness…

A 3-year pilot bilingual program based on the Manitoba curriculum was evaluated to determine the degree to which program objectives had been achieved. The program uses Ukrainian as the language of instruction for 100% of the time in kindergarten and for 50% of the time in grades 1 and 2. The study investigated the following: (1) the extent to…

This Sunny Side Up activities book is a coupling of science and language arts materials that will assist middle school teachers in developing energy awareness while they are teaching language arts skills. The majority of exercises and activities are keyed to the basic reading and writing skills stated in the "Minimum Performance Standards for…

This report describes the yearlong case study based on participant observation at a school which used ThinkAbout, a series of 60 15-minute instructional television programs designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders, and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and study skills. Discussion covers the patterns…

Intended as a guide for elementary school teachers to assist them in preparing and implementing specific literature units or in developing more long-term literature programs, this book contains 13 focus units. After defining a focus unit as an instructional sequence in which literature is used both as a rich natural resource for developing…