Recent calls for coursework acceleration, reforms efforts, and promising pedagogical practices have resulted in the reemergence of integrated reading and writing (IRW) courses in community colleges nationwide. To answer such calls, a number of IRW textbooks have been published and implemented rapidly, perhaps out of convenience. This study was a…

If Christian schools desire students to achieve higher-level thinking, then the textbooks that teachers use should reflect such thinking. Using Risner's (1987) methodology, raters classified questions from two Christian publishers' fifth grade reading textbooks based on the revised Bloom's taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2001). The questions in the A…

Skill and drill remediation in developmental reading courses do not prepare students for reading tasks in future college-level courses. When a skill and drill model is replaced with a model that utilizes contextualization, students engage in relevant activities with authentic texts to prepare students for college-level activities. The reading…

Writing a coursebook is a demanding task and more important than writing is how to evaluate it in order to pin point its weaknesses and improve them. If we yearn to produce a quality and useful coursebook, we need to consider how to develop and evaluate it. The study reported in this article describes the process in which the researcher developed…

This study determined what levels of thinking were included in Christian publishers' elementary reading textbooks and if there was a statistically significant difference between the levels of thinking in different textbooks. A proportional random sample of reading comprehension questions was drawn from the fifth grade teacher's editions of reading…

The purpose of this study was to examine how secondary teachers have been taught to teach reading-to-learn over the last four decades, and to teach the struggling and reluctant readers in their classes. In this study, twelve secondary reading methods textbooks were analyzed. The textbooks were chosen based on four criteria: (a) availability, (b)…

Describes how education came to adopt the textbook approach and reviews various educational reform movements. Suggests that more attention must be paid to the processes whereby educators take the lead in the development of reflection that leads to changes in schools and the attitudes of the general public. (Author/JOW)

Instructional materials are usually selected by classroom teachers. Little is known about what criteria they use in making these choices. Most of the literature recommends, instead, the attributes to be used. This study employs a qualitative approach to examine one teacher's thinking about her selection of materials. Fundamental to her thinking…

Schools today are working harder than ever to help ensure that "all" children "can" learn and achieve high standards. Marti Richardson, a recognized leader in professional and curriculum development, delivers an innovative, classroom-tested program with planning tools to customize it for any school or district's data-based needs. Designed around a…

Intended to assist educational leaders by identifying recommendations from the report, "A Nation at Risk," that are relevant to reading and literacy and by suggesting instructional guidelines consistent with both the report and current reading research, this booklet presents policy guidelines in the following areas: (1) literacy…

This journal contains articles of interest to teachers of English as a second language, particularly those in Hebrew-English situations. This issue contains the following articles: (1) "Information for English Teachers," which includes information on curriculum, materials, courses, teacher certification, and examinations; (2)…

This journal contains news items and articles for teachers of English in Israel. The following news items are included: Listening Comprehension Test, 1978; news from the Bagrut Examinations, 1978; summer schools in Great Britain, 1978; Bagrut Examinations, 1975-1978; in-service courses; "English Teachers' Journal" subscription; new…

Selected papers from the 1989 Central State Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages include the following: "From Talk to Action: An Essential for Curricular Change" (June K. Phillips); "Comprehensible Input for Intermediate Foreign Language Students via Video" (Tracy David Terrell); "Developing Extensive Reading Skills: The Transition to…

The official curriculum for the second three years (seventh, eighth, and ninth grades) of the Manitoba Department of Education's nine-year core French language program is presented. The guide, intended for teachers, outlines the program's curriculum committee membership, program requirements, philosophy, objectives, content, recommended…

Essays on Spanish linguistics and related topics are dedicated to linguist Tracy D. Terrell. An introductory section gives a brief biography and a list of his publications. Essays include: "The Natural Approach to Language Teaching: An Update" (Tracy D. Terrell); "Two Mad, Mad, Mad Worlds: Notes on Natural Approach and the Writing…