This ERIC Digest discusses three ways in which teachers can create an environment that stimulates critical inquiry: critical reading; writing to learn; and classification games. Critical reading has been defined as learning to evaluate, draw inferences, and arrive at conclusions based on the evidence. Elbow's (1983) writing to learn approach to…

This digest focuses on teaching integrated skills in the English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language classroom (ESL/EFL). Segregated-skill instruction is examined and two types of integrated-skills instruction are highlighted: content-based instruction and task-based instruction. The advantages of integrated-skill instruction are discussed, and five…

Although listening provides a foundation for all aspects of language and cognitive development and plays a lifelong role in the processes of learning and communication essential to productive participation in life, there is a tendency for teachers not to emphasize listening objectives. Even though no widely accepted model for listening has been…

Music can be used in the adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom to create a learning environment; to build listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills; to increase vocabulary; and to expand cultural knowledge. This digest looks briefly at research and offers strategies for using music in the adult ESL classroom.…

Emerging perspectives on numeracy and their social, cultural, and political implications provide a context for new ways of thinking about adult numeracy instruction. Beyond daily living skills, numeracy is now being defined as knowledge that empowers citizens for life in their particular society. Thus, numeracy has economic, social, and political…

The educational excellence movement has made an academic curriculum a high priority for all high school students, including the 40 percent who do not go on to college. The joint efforts approach to incorporating basic skills into the vocational curriculum is based on the following assumptions: (1) academic skills are embedded in vocational…

Civic education "means explicit and continuing study of the basic concepts and values underlying our democratic political community and constitutional order" (Butts 1988, 184). It draws its content chiefly from four disciplines: political science, jurisprudence, history, and economics. Political science and jurisprudence provide an…

Interest in elementary school foreign language programs has resurfaced in recent years, and the number of programs is increasing. Many states are requiring foreign language study at the elementary level. For a local school or community seeking to implement elementary school language programs, it is important that a rationale be developed to meet…

Critical thinking is a major goal of social studies education. Teachers need to know what critical thinking is before they can successfully incorporate the skill into their teaching strategies. Understanding why critical thinking is a major goal of education in a free society helps teachers prepare students to be informed and rational participants…

This digest discusses some of the ways children develop functional phonics knowledge in the context of authentic reading and writing, as well as some of the ways teachers can foster such development. The digest suggests that children develop phonics knowledge by: having familiar stories or poems read to them repeatedly; discussing letter/sound…

Dialogue journals are recommended in this digest for teachers who want to involve every student in a literacy practice that unites reading and writing and encourages thinking and reflection. The digest first explains that dialogue journals are useful because they use writing as a genuine means of communication between student and teacher. Dialogue…

This digest discusses the concept of "phonemic/phonological awareness"--the awareness that spoken language is made up of discrete sounds. The digest also discusses why this concept is so important to early childhood educators, its relation to the debate on the best type of reading instruction, and teaching methods that may help children…

This digest contrasts the traditional view of learning characteristic of classroom instruction with the emerging "constructivist" view that emphasizes the understanding of how and why students learn. The latter takes learning as a knowledge construction process that closely relates to prior knowledge and the learning context. It lends…

This Digest lists some of the common mistakes made by young readers and suggests teaching strategies that may be useful to teachers who are preparing their classes to take standardized tests. Children must learn to use the text to pick the answer, rather than relying on memory, especially when the story is a familiar one. Teachers can help…

Critical thinking skills figure prominently among the goals for education proposed by educational researchers, parents, and employers. This digest discusses the skills related to critical thinking and three specific strategies for teaching these skills. The first, Building Categories, is an inductive reasoning tool that helps students categorize…