Writing activities have long been used in a foreign language class for reinforcing students' linguistic knowledge or other language skills. However teaching writing as writing in its own right has only been advocated in recent decades with the increasing awareness of second and foreign language students' needs to write for academic purposes in the…

Intended for teachers of grades 4-8, this book presents a flexible format for reading, designed to be used with students who have different backgrounds and experiences with reading literature. The book's first 3 sections, "Character,""Setting," and "Plot," proceed step-by-step through the recognition of these basic…

A college classroom in a southern U.S. university served as the location for a case study on the effects of gender on communication. Of 31 students in the class, only 8 were men. The majority of class time was devoted to discussion; a typical class consisted of a presentation of terms and theories in a text, and an effort to find "real life"…

The step-by-step instructions using storyboarding techniques described in this book show children how to create action-filled pages to illustrate their own stories. The book discusses storyboarding techniques, book mock-up, coloring materials, writing and editing the story, and coming up with a title. The book also includes suggestions for…

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to writing in the English language for a variety of technical purposes,…

Based on "Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo" by Zlata Filipovic, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that historical drama, like other historical fiction, is rooted in history but contains imaginary elements as well; and that the author describes in her diary what it was like to be a teenager in…

In this lesson, each fourth-grade student is asked to choose a famous person who was born in his/her state, research the person's contributions to history, write a monologue, and then perform the monologue using a costume and/or a prop. The lesson offers an overview; suggests lesson length and grade level; lists subjects and subtopics; cites…

Everything changes over time, even languages. Despite language teachers, grammar books, and standardise exams, there's no way to stop languages from changing. One aspect of language change of particular interest to members and supporters of women's rights organisations is the ongoing shift from what some people call "gender-exclusive"…

Suggests that using the one-minute paper to teach an introductory economics course increases economic knowledge regardless of student ability level and instructor characteristics. The one-minute paper is a form of feedback where the students answer a few basic questions about the lesson at the end of the class. (MJP)

A qualitative study of 15 ninth grade math students required to write a paper showing how math is used in the real world revealed differences in how teachers and students perceive research. Discusses student and teacher interpretations of the project; student reactions to the process, support materials, and grades; and student feelings about the…

Describes "Write Now," a writing-to-learn math and science program promoting academic gains and student involvement. Describes how students begin class by writing an answer to an open-ended question dealing with the previous lesson, noting that monitoring oral and written responses allows for evaluation of understanding. Lists criteria…

Discusses some of the issues of choice and diversity in multicultural writing and reading assignments for secondary students. Draws on two research studies, one on high school students and one on middle school students. Notes that both studies found a mixture of desire for and discomfort with plurality in the classroom. (TB)

Describes a course that resulted from the interest and need of the academic-advising office to serve undecided students more efficiently, preferably in a group-advising format. Finds that the resulting atmosphere seems to help students make significant progress in writing and in understanding their indecision. (MG)

Argues that bulk mailings can successfully be used in the classroom to teach reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Provides examples of activities addressing salutations, alliteration, connotations, rhetorical appeals, sentence structures, close reading, and vocabulary development. (KEH)

Describes two writing activities (based on S. I. Hayakawa's discussion of biased thinking in his book "Language in Thought and Action") that are designed to enable students to recognize and become sensitive to closemindedness. (KEH)