Three installments of "Ideas from the Classroom," a regular feature of the National Council of Teachers of English publication, "Notes Plus," are presented in this compilation. "Ideas from the Classroom" offers a variety of teacher-submitted activities for English and language arts instruction. The three articles in…

Acknowledging major reform reports that name reading, writing, speaking, and listening as the most essential skills in the work of any school, this brochure discusses important first steps for school boards pursuing excellence in the language arts. These concrete suggestions are grouped under five broad directives: (1) declare that the highly…

Reflecting concerns for the present state of and current trends in English education on an international scope, the articles in these conference proceedings focus on the multicultural environment, teacher education, and research in English instruction. Following an opening address on the past and future of English teaching, the remaining articles…

To determine the characteristics of, problems with, and teachers' attitudes toward the elementary language arts curriculum, a survey was distributed to 160 elementary teachers (101 teachers responded; 86 females and 15 males--a 63% rate of return). Results showed that teachers perceived no difficulties communicating either with other teachers…

This paper reports on preliminary findings from a longitudinal study on the integration of multimedia and the internet technologies into language teaching. Phase I of the study included novice computer users' approaches to multimedia design. Phase II explored the correlations between their attitudes and cognitive styles; and Phase III focused on…

Interdepartmental rivalries between literature instruction and composition instruction have contributed to viewing reading and writing as disconnected activities. One solution to this divisiveness is a course in "the journal as a literary tradition," which combines reading and writing in equal portions. Students first learn about the…

Designed to engage the learner in active learning while allowing for different degrees of guidance, this workbook represents an innovative approach to the instruction of Early American literature. The Personal Literacy Jackdaw workbook provides reading, writing, and speaking activities to help the tenth/eleventh grade language arts student develop…

Since exploration of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is crucial to teenagers' ability to develop healthy attitudes and behaviors, and since the language arts classroom is a natural arena for such exploration, this sourcebook presents ideas on how to bring this kind of discussion…

In explorations of American literature in high school, the tradition of sailormen and the sea is generally not considered independently or distinctly because the sea is not viewed as a separate region of thought. Songs of the whalers and sailors of the sea and the inland waterways are frequently related to the historical and spatial context of…

This evaluation report describes the Bilingual Education Talented Academy--Gifted and Talented Project (Project BETA) in its first year of a 3-year Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII funding cycle. The project served 307 students of limited English proficiency in two Bronx (New York) high schools. The predominant native languages…

Information on current trends and issues in English instruction, compiled by directors of the following National Council of Teachers of English groups, is presented in this report: Commission on Composition (Charles I. Schuster); Commission on Curriculum (Eileen Lundy); Commission on the English Language (James C. Stalker); Commission on Media…

This report evaluates New York City's Summer High School Preparation for Raising Educational Performance (PREP) program, which was designed to ease Chapter 1-eligible students' transition from junior to senior high school. The report contains the following: (1) an introduction with information on program background, objectives, and methodology;…

Focusing on the challenges the future will bring to English teachers, this journal issue contains 24 articles dealing with a variety of philosophical and pedagogical topics. Article titles and authors are (1) "The End of Us: 1986" (R. E. Stratton); (2) "2082: A College Speaking Course" (C. Yetman); (3) "Competing with the Mass Media" (M. Keiffer);…

Focusing on the rationales and materials for teaching social issues in the English classroom, this thematic issue contains the following articles: "Introduction: Reflections of Society in Literature" (M. B. Fleming); "Addressing Social and/or Controversial Issues in the English Classroom" (S. Totten); "The Growing Threat to Quality Education: How…

One of six books in each basic subject area, this book is intended to spark more detailed discussion and ongoing dialogue among fellow teachers who have front-line responsibility for ensuring that all students are prepared adequately for college. It is also intended for guidance counselors, principals, superintendents, and other officials who must…