From penmanship, to product, to process...this article recounts 100 years of instructional practice in the US elementary writing classroom through the voices of past teaching manuals and curriculum guides. This particular tale begins at the turn of the 20th century--a time when the elementary school was firmly established in the country, and…

Defends the inclusion of storytelling in the language curriculum and suggests techniques for effective storytelling. (DD)

Suggests an approach to teaching writing that encourages children to write and eliminates error-hunting. (DD)

An interview with poet David McCord regarding children's poetry and ways of teaching it. (DD)

Suggests approaches to the teaching of figures of speech. (DD)

Discusses the uses of videodisks and laserdisks in the elementary classroom. (MG)

Linguistic structures and cultural conflicts are the reasons why African-American students fare poorly in literacy instructions in classrooms. Some ideas for creating an accessible, research-based approach to language arts in dialectally diverse classrooms are presented.

Children will write well only when they speak in their own voices about their own concerns. (DD)

Contains representative selections from issues of "The Elementary English Review," a precursor to "Language Arts," during its first decade of publication. Includes articles, editorials, and ads reflecting contemporary educational concerns still relevant today, such as the reading and writing relationship and teaching children…

Discusses one approach to teaching fourth graders about death through children's literature. (DD)

Provides an update on the progress being made at the National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning. Discusses research-in-progress with teachers struggling to adapt their instruction to a response-based approach to reading literature. Presents a framework of optional strategies for teachers. (RS)

Discusses how elementary education gradually became a concern of the newly founded National Council of Teachers of English and how the Council in turn set about to influence elementary school language arts instruction during its first 50 years. (HTH)

Contains representative selections from issues of "The Elementary English Review," a precursor to "Language Arts," during its second decade of publication. Includes articles, editorials, and ads reflecting contemporary concerns of English education still relevant today, such as integrating the language arts and school closings.…

Reflects upon teachers' experiences in using core literature pieces to develop units of study. Raises concerns related to the weakly connected instructional activities generated in the planning of units focused on these teacher-selected literature works. Challenges educators to consider a process for developing conceptually related literature…

Notes that lesson plans in English classes are unlike those in many disciplines, because the human factors involved often cause unpredictable elements. Points out that fantasy and spiritual inspiration often come into play when teachers put together language arts lesson plans. (SKC)