Noting that knowledge of grammar rules does not ensure correct usage in one's own writing, describes an approach used in a summer workshop to promote awareness of appropriate idiom where 35 highly motivated black students produced 'Snow White' using their own script, half in standard dialect and half in black dialect. (JG)

This booklet contains 28 fact sheets on communication written primarily for parents and families with a child who is deaf-blind. They attempt to address fundamental but complex issues related to the communication needs of children with vision and hearing impairments. Each fact sheet targets a specific area, including: (1) communication; (2)…

THE ENGLISH TEACHER CAN ROUSE STUDENTS OUT OF UNTHINKING ACCEPTANCE AND PASSIVITY BY PROVIDING THEM WITH CREATIVE LANGUAGE EXPERIENCES DESIGNED TO SHAPE THEM INTO CURIOUS AND RESPONSIVE INDIVIDUALS. TO FIND A PERSPECTIVE ON TEACHING CREATIVELY THE MANY FACETS OF LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND COMPOSITION, TEACHERS SHOULD LOOK TO STATEMENTS MADE BY…

This booklet offers practical, easy-to-read suggestions for teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents to help them understand language development and language disabilities. The first section highlights some of the factors involved in language development. The second section deals with some of the common causes for language disabilities and…

It is not possible to outline a "system" of education which could be applied to all children with language handicaps. Each child with a language deviation will provide his own model and his own system of educational needs based upon the extent to which he is atypical in his language development. The disadvantaged child lacks the language facility…

Describes experiences with developing language and listening skills through storytelling in two multigraded elementary classrooms. Discusses how to: launch the program through literature and storytellers; implement the program, including storytelling ideas; maintain a supportive environment; assess children using anecdotal observation sheets; and…

The article presents a framework for understanding the pragmatic, semantic, syntactic, text, and phonological aspects of language that underlie both oral and written communication. It gives suggestions for ways speech-language pathologists can assess children's language skills that are essential for success in a whole language program. (Author/JDD)

Reports on a simulation used in intercultural communication in an English-as-a-Second-Language/English-as-a-Foreign-Language teacher education program. The simulation created an uncomfortable cultural atmosphere, similar to that in a foreign environment, and focused on helping the teachers in training recognize themselves as cultural beings whose…

This handbook may serve as a guide in helping teachers to identify children with learning disabilities. Hypothetical cases are presented, giving specific examples of academic and behavioral problems which may be caused by such learning disabilities as visual perceptual disorders, auditory perceptual disorders, motor disorders, orientation…

This pamphlet is the first in a series of ten stemming from the view that language is central to learning, that teachers can gain insights into their work and into learning by examining the language of the classroom, and that current language theory can be the means to such insights. The pamphlet contains a description of an informal study…

In this seventh-grade language unit, the study of semantics is introduced by an examination of the relationships between words and their referents, particularly in terms of changes of meaning and degrees of abstraction. Classroom activities are suggested to help students become aware of "language liveliness" and the processes of…

This paper discusses the evidence that the specific developmental profile frequently described as being associated with Down syndrome--a profile of communication weaknesses relative to social and daily living skills--can be changed. It is not an inevitable outcome of having Down syndrome. Drawing on data collected to explore the outcomes of fully…

A compilation of ideas and teaching methods to be used for remediation of learning problems is presented with skills coded to four different colors of paper. Auditory skills, visual skills, and auditory-visual association (all three both receptive and expressive) are discussed as are non-verbal skills. The stated purposes of this type of…

Joint attention refers to an early developing set of behaviors that plays a critical role in both social and language development and is specifically impaired in children with autism. In a series of three studies, preschool teachers demonstrated the effectiveness of discrete trial instruction and pivotal response training strategies to teach joint…

Designed for instruction of mainstreamed educable mentally retarded (EMR) students in kindergarten through grade 12, the resource guide covers quantitative and communication subject areas. Minimal skill sequences are listed for primary, elementary, middle, and secondary age levels for the following quantitative topic areas: clock time, calendar…