Suggests ways of using parody, comedy, language play, and satire to vary classroom routines and to maintain a level of excitement in the English classroom. (RL)

Presents a 15-item annotated bibliography of books, articles, and conference presentations published between 1991 and 1994 and abstracted in the ERIC database on the dilemma English teachers face--most students can read, but far too many neither read widely nor effectively. (RS)

Surveys the status of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in English. (JL)

This book is intended to help teachers in the upper grades lead their students toward an understanding of the history of the English language. It demonstrates the value of studying language history and provides material and suggestions which can be used to complement a language arts program. The book stresses making students aware of the…

Presents a rationale for the use of journalism in teaching English. Drawing from sources in the ERIC database, surveys journalistic aspects and sources that are closely related to and useful for the teaching of writing, critical reading, and production of a student literary magazine. (JK)

Examines ERIC resources for teaching about death and dying. (FL)

Presents materials in the ERIC database on concrete poetry--poetry that juxtaposes the words with the physical dimensions of the text on the page. (SRT)

Describes ERIC as an up-to-date database that has relatively few items that center on conventions and mechanics, and yet there are hundreds of citations including ERIC descriptors such as spelling, grammar, and syntax. Presents a seven-item annotated bibliography of journal articles and books (published in ERIC between 1991 and 1993). (PA)

This digest discusses the highlights of a study which surveyed (in 1988) the book-length works taught in high school English programs in public, parochial, and independent schools and then compared the survey results with results of a similar survey in 1963. The digest reports that the 10 titles most frequently taught in public, Catholic, and…

Recognizing the contradictory or inconclusive findings on class size in English, this booklet provides a summary and analysis of existing class size research and describes the kinds of research that would shed new light on the question of class size and secondary English. The first section contains the report of the Task Force on Class Size and…

Contemporary syntactic theory rejects the idea that prescriptive grammar can provide students with any insights into how language works. For generative grammar, a term for the aggregate of methodologies which currently dominates modern linguistics, rules determining the grammaticality of a sentence do not relate in any way to the rules which make…

Indicates possibilities for growth in English teacher education, as discussed in a number of materials in the ERIC system. (GT)

A classroom companion to "Word History: A Guide to Understanding the English Language," this book provides teachers with additional information to help them include the study of word history in their classroom routine. The book presents suggestions and activities that can be used to challenge students to play with words; to give teachers…

Intended for administrators and policy makers, as well as teachers, this digest examines the current state of humanities instruction and the evolving place of humanities in the high school English classroom. The digest first explores differing definitions of the humanities, and discusses reasons for the decline in emphasis on humanities…

This book of 41 lesson plans, compiled from resources in the ERIC database, focuses on strategies for teaching the novel at the junior high and high school level. Each lesson includes a brief description, objectives, and procedures. The book includes strategies for teaching specific novels, general strategies, a user's guide, an activities chart,…