Curriculum based on open educational resources (OER) -- materials that are free for educators and students to use, customize, and share -- represent a small portion of all K-12 recent adoptions, at slightly over 5%. OER are concentrated in Mathematics, where 14% of adoption decisions were OER (compared to 4% for English Language Arts, 2% for…

This 15-year program of research explored the extent to which prosocial attitudes and behavior of high school students were increased by focused lesson plans administered in dedicated high school classrooms over 1 or 2 academic semesters. The narrative describes the evolution of the Character Development and Leadership Program from a pilot study…

During the school year leading up to summer 2015, summer leaders in Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Rochester made concerted efforts to integrate their summer learning programs into the core priorities and operations of the larger school district as a strategy to increase sustainability. This report examines these efforts and their impacts. The…

The heart of effective programming for gifted services lies in the development of curricula that will challenge and enhance learning outcomes for gifted students. Educators have voiced concerns about the lack of differentiated curricula and instruction in gifted classrooms and the paucity of empirical evidence to support their effectiveness for…

The goals of this research are two-fold: (1) to survey the literature comparing the effectiveness (as measured by student achievement on state tests) of scripted language arts/reading programs in low-performing schools, and (2) to compare middle school teachers' attitudes (measured in questionnaires, interviews and surveys) on implementation and…

"Viewing and Representing in the Middle Years" was a 2-year project to investigate the development of visual literacy in the classrooms of 3 Canadian middle school teachers. These teachers tried a large variety of approaches and were generally optimistic about the increased use of visual materials to make classrooms more inclusive. They…

This pilot descriptive study examined expressed perceptions of a diverse group of teachers who, in the 2002-2003 school year, piloted implementation of a new standards based supplemental program in reading/language arts, EduSTRANDS. Over 600 teachers in 153 schools using a supplemental, standards based reading/language arts program were surveyed…

Discusses curriculum statements produced in Victoria containing different views on how to teach English. States that the differences are due to the beliefs that either language is learned as a whole and with a purpose, or in parts as directed by the teacher. (EL)

After implementing changes in language arts instruction, the principal--who is in a key position to sustain or institutionalize the changes--faces several responsibilities. Factors involved in directing innovations to become "built in" to school programs include solving specific problems, sharing decision-making responsibilities, upgrading and…

Describes a summer institute for classroom teachers and arts specialists on integrating the arts into language arts in order to meet newly mandated viewing and representing strands in school curricula. Outlines the results of a survey sent to participants one year after the institute. Concludes that an intensive professional development experience…

Recounts the development and implementation of a new language and literature program into the kindergarten curriculum at the Lincoln-Eliot School in Newton, Massachusetts. (BB)

This framework is designed to serve as a general map for the development of English language arts curricula by schools, school districts, or collaboratives. It is not a curriculum guide. Rather, it provides a structure that local agencies can employ in planning curriculum and instruction tailored to their own needs and circumstances. This…

The Language Arts 6-12 Program of the Des Moines Independent Community School District (Iowa) is directed by its mission statement to provide a quality educational program to a diverse community of students where all are expected to learn. The Language Arts supervisor is responsible for supervising and coordinating all aspects of the middle and…

"Writing across the curriculum," an educational objective of the 70s, has failed to impress itself as a significant reality on Canada's educators, especially in secondary schools. Reasons for this include a lack of understanding of the concept and its scope within institutions and misconceptions about the English department's role. (JMM)

The 1974-75 Austin Independent School District bilingual/bicultural program was designed as a comprehensive program of bilingual (Spanish and English) education for schools with the highest concentrations of Spanish-dominant Mexican American students. Bicultural instruction was inherent in the program which used both languages for a portion of all…