Holistic teaching in secondary school English helps avoid subject matter isolation and fragmentation. It involves exposing students to forthcoming information, covering subject matter, and following up on information presented. It engages the whole student, creating effective communicators who think critically and comprehend written and spoken…

As experiences of two first graders show, learning occurs in split-second initiatives that children take with others as they try to attend, engage, interact, communicate, and reason. Before children can learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, they must know how to learn. Children cannot learn two-way communication with gestures, words, or symbols…

Applies principles of whole-language instruction to the teaching of sign language skills. Emphasis is on the holistic use of sign language in natural communicative situations. Some materials for this approach to sign language instruction are suggested. (DB)

A study examined strategies for embedding literacy skills within a whole language program. A questionnaire was given to full-time whole language elementary school teachers who taught in kindergarten through second-grade classrooms. All the participants teach in suburban school districts in the Bay Area including San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, and…

The Monterey Institute's International Studies curriculum is described in terms of its foreign language fluency requirements for business master's degree candidates and the school's use of language in international business negotiation training and other exercises involving foreign affairs. Illustrations reveal the school's success in educating…

This ERIC/RCS Special Collection contains seven ERIC Digests (brief syntheses of the research on a specific topic in contemporary education) and eight FAST Bibs (Focused Access to Selected Topics--annotated bibliographies with selected entries from the ERIC database), providing up-to-date information in an accessible format. The collection focuses…

At the Arkansas School for the Deaf, high school students use electronic mail to correspond with friends in other places, including those met on electronic bulletin boards. Uses of electronic mail are addressed in the context of whole-language instruction. Specific networks appropriate for children, including KendallNet (linking schools for the…

This paper describes a practicum designed to give 12 low-achieving first-grade children more time to improve their communication skills, to promote knowledge development, and to motivate children to become enthusiastic about the reading and writing process. Whole language, creative drama, and different styles of writing were utilized in the…

This annotated bibliography of instructional media in communication skills presents annotations of 112 books and videotapes for students in grades from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, and of 38 books and videos for teachers. The material in the bibliography for students consists mostly of poetry collections published in 1990 and 1991. The…

A study examined a program for promoting standard writing skill development to facilitate effective communication. Targeted were three regular third- and fourth-grade classes and one bilingual fourth-grade class in growing, middle class communities located west of a large metropolitan area. The lack of developmentally appropriate spelling and…

Discusses the concept of a "literacy of thoughtfulness" for all students, characterized by the ability to think critically and creatively, to solve problems, exercise judgment, access, assimilate, and apply information, and communicate effectively with others. Suggests that thoughtfulness is inescapably bound up with culture. (KEH)

This article discusses the concept of world knowledge and its relevance to intervention processes. Roles of linguistic and physical context in interpretation and levels of speaker experience are discussed. Levels of involvement are related to communication goals, and these principles are extended to applications in the teaching of language skills.…

Discussion of literacy for the twenty-first century focuses on the Norristown (Pennsylvania) Area School District (NASD), where a restructured curriculum stresses thinking and communication skills. Sidebars introduce electronic books, recommend language learning software, describe six state literacy reform initiatives, and describe professional…

Provides examples of how holistic procedures can be implemented by teachers who want to supplement the required basal. Demonstrates how students' reading ability, language acquisition, and communication skills can be strengthened as teachers activate prior knowledge, provide language-rich environments, consider reading/writing connections, and…

In order to evaluate the Project ALERT (Adult Literacy Enhanced & Redefined through Training) Workplace Literacy Project, data were collected to gauge the impact of the program on individual participants, the organizations in which they were employed, and to provide the use of whole language and multimedia techniques in workplace literacy…