The Massachusetts Early College Initiative eases the pathway to postsecondary education for thousands of high school students annually. Early college programs provide strategically-sequenced, real college classes with strong career orientations during students' regular high school day. When fully realized, they also provide enhanced academic and…

In 2010, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Education Program has established the Deeper Learning Initiative, which focuses on students' development of deeper learning skills (i.e., the mastery of core academic content, critical-thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and "learn-how-to-learn" skills). Two test…

Reviews several studies showing that learning to type enhances children's language arts skills. Describes a program that successfully taught typing to elementary school children. (FL)

Over 30 elementary activities for developing dictionary skills are provided. A wide variety of formats is used, including pictionaries, connect the dots, word searches, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and riddles to help children practice skills such as sounds, alphabetical order, prefixes, parts of speech, phonetic pronunciation, and guide words.…

Designed for use with the text "Greek and Roman Myths," this junior high school learning activity packet introduces students to mythology and examines the influence of myths on contemporary culture. Over 20 exercises, tagged to specific readings in the text, cover identification of the major gods, the Prometheus myth, the Atlas myth,…

This book presents a framework for teaching skills that reflects new research on thinking, teaching for understanding, and instruction in the language arts and content areas at all levels. The book is organized into two parts. Part 1 presents the framework for teaching the language arts as thinking--topics covered are learning, organizational…

Games which help hearing-impaired students develop language skills include the barrier game (students help others to arrange items in the same order as theirs); hiding game (students determine objects' hiding places by asking questions); describing game (students describe objects as others draw them); and telephone game (a message is passed…

Designed to help stimulate the development of thinking skills in children of varying abilities and to review basic skills at all elementary grade levels, this book contains 153 "ready-to-go" classroom activities. Included are "total-group,""partner," and "individual" activities. Activities in the book are…

Shows how children's use of explicit oral language is related to success in learning to read and writing. Outlines a technique to teach the use of explicit language through dramatic play. (HTH)

Relates how a high school English teacher reorganized the "basic skills" course to reflect greater attention not to isolated skills and drill but to meaningful practice in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Focuses on the technique of a "Reading Blitz"--five successive days of reading--to develop other language activities. (RL)

Designed for use at school or at home, this book focuses on the development of seven types of literacy: linguistic, visual, mathematical, scientific, geographic, economic, and computer. The book's suggested activities are each introduced with a detailed discussion of the necessary prerequisite skills, the concepts to be mastered, the materials…

The purpose of this curriculum outline is to define the basic language arts requirements for junior high school students in the Oak Park (Illinois) school district. For grades 7 and 8 the topics covered in mechanics, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech, language usage, and sentence style are outlined. In addition, a summary of…

An economics program designed for junior high and senior high school students indicates that learning economic content tends to improve a student's ability in social studies skills and, indirectly, also improves language arts and quantitative skills. (Author/RM)

Low grades and papers overrun with corrections can discourage children from learning to write. Assuming children who write a great deal can become good writers, this article provides alternatives to grading: individual, weekly conferences; editing by peers; and use of an overhead projector. Praise and comments are considered a must. (DS)

This article describes an enrichment program for gifted fifth-grade students, which focuses on American presidents. Students develop biographical profiles of a president whom they portray in various individual and group activities over a five-month period. The program addresses issues of leadership, ethics, and collaboration as well as building…