The article focuses on using creative play in the developmental writing classroom to enhance student engagement. Theories that support the use of play in the classroom are briefly described. Several teaching techniques are shared, including developing metaphors as part of teaching a grammar unit, acting out readings from novels, and using poetry…

The meaning of "progress" in U.S. educational institutions has undergone much debate (Tyack & Cuban, 1995). Standards-driven practices have often promoted a search for "right" answers in place of critical and diverse thinking. Globalization and its impacts compel us to continue revising and articulating the meaning of progress for 21st century…

"Culture Currents" presents the books, essays, poetry, performances, music, websites and other cultural media influencing educational leaders. "Culture Currents" is a snapshot, a peek behind the scenes. It reveals what people are reading or seeing that may not be normally mentioned or cited in their academic work. In this issue's contribution, two…

In a sample of 46 children aged 4-7 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intelligible speech, there was no statistical support for the hypothesis of concomitant Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Perceptual and acoustic measures of participants' speech, prosody, and voice were compared with data from 40 typically-developing children, 13…

Throughout adolescence, children begin to develop their life story: a coherent account of their experiences and selfhood. Although the nature of this development is still being uncovered, one promising direction for research is the examination of factors that could encourage life story development. Here the authors explore the idea that exposure…

The author has always had an appreciation of language--its rhythms, sounds, wordplay, dialects, usage variations, and powers to manipulate. Reflecting on how she came to this appreciation, she remembers her father reciting poems to her when she was a little girl. She was enthralled by the rhythm, the rhyme, and the sounds of the words--both…

When a language arts curriculum provided students with the opportunity to translate meaning across sign systems (that is, from poetry to dance), numerous benefits were noted. Transmediation, the translation of meaning from one sign system to another, led students to analyze compositional structures and to enhance their use of academic language…

The aim of this mixed methods research study was to examine the construction of adolescents' bi-cultural identities through an exploration of their social practices on the social networking site, Ning. More specifically, we ask: (1) how are new Canadian and first-generation adolescents' bi-cultural identities shaped and performed as they use…

It is definitely easier to write about work when things are going well, but it is even more important to write about what happens when things get challenging. The act of writing about the challenging times can be challenging in itself but can also provide invaluable insights into the process of teaching: important for the writer and just as…

This paper explores how students, as multimodal storytellers, can weave powerful narratives blending modes, genres, artefacts and literary conventions to represent the real and imagined in their lives. Part of a larger ethnographic case study of student writing in a middle years class for immigrant students learning English as an additional…

The first part of this article refers to the initial attempt to relate Nature to Literature since the age of Hellenistic Alexandria in Egypt. Alexandria was a metropolis of its time with a quite lively character of urban life. Influenced by that character Theocritus was the first to lay the foundations of what is defined as pastoral poetry. In the…

This paper examines the place of poetry writing in the post-16 English curriculum in Malta. In presenting the results of a small-scale study adopting a mixed methods approach, it explores the views of teachers, students and an influential examiner. The paper proposes that while there seems to be an appreciation of what creative writing can…

The purpose of this case study is to examine the ways in which the systematic teaching of poetry reading at Greek primary school enhances children's interest in reading and helps develop their oral skills by enriching their vocabulary and creative thinking. The present poetry project was implemented at a Greek public kindergarten in Rethymno,…

Now in its second edition, Trevor Wright's hugely popular "How to be a Brilliant English Teacher" is packed with practical advice drawn from his extensive and successful experience as an English teacher, examiner and teacher trainer. This accessible and readable guide offers sound theoretical principles with exciting practical suggestions for the…

This study examines the depictions of the Flemish in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", Langland's "Piers Plowman", several historical chronicles including The Brut continuations, poetic works such as "The Libelle of Englysh Polycye", additional short poems dealing directly with events of the Hundred Years' War, and…