The teaching activities presented in this compilation of columns from the journal "Live Wire" focus on integrating the arts with language. The selections describe (1) the concept of "framing" in art and in writing; (2) using folktale pantomimes as inspirations for writing; (3) using literature response sheets (samples included) to respond to the…

Designing a curriculum to introduce freshman composition students to computer assisted composition involves the cooperation of the composition instructor and the writing center director. One college has developed such a curriculum using the "Milliken Word Processor" (Milliken Publishing Company), a simple program with a variety of…

Diagnostic teaching should be considered a two-step operation: the first half is skills assessment while the second half is related basic skills instruction. As part of the basic skills instruction, the students should be taught to be aware of certain features of the text itself when reading or writing: identification of topic, formats,…

Music can be an effective motivational vehicle for teaching listening skills, literature, oral and nonverbal communication, creative writing, handwriting, spelling, and grammar. One idea for integrating music into the language arts involves the use of song lyrics as reading materials. Since contemporary country music, and its precursor folk music,…

Many teachers not trained in English as a second language (ESL) often feel at a disadvantage when they are working with children whose first language is not English. This book addresses this disadvantage by giving practical information and teaching aids. The first area investigated is registration. Questions are suggested and the use to which…

Research indicates that most blacks shift between a variety of social registers to produce inherent variability in the features of their speech, which in turn causes problems for college composition instruction. Writing teachers must avoid holding a stereotypic view of black speech, be sensitive to the varying social registers of black speech, and…

Data on students participating in six peer-response groups in a college writing workshop revealed the role of student writers in weaving the web of critical response during the peer group discussion. Analysis showed that the student writers engaged in four main types of verbal activity concerning their papers: (1) asking questions about their…

The 18 articles in the first section of this journal issue provide information about the National Writing Project, while the 22 articles in the second section discuss classroom writing projects. Among the topics discussed in the first section are the National Writing Projects in Arizona, Northeast Texas, and Boston; teacher behavior during…

Methodology and findings are reported for a study of the materials and instructional components of the Reading and Writing Laboratories at Ohlone College conducted by a team of five external evaluators. The report's first section details: (1) the goals of both labs, as articulated by the college; (2) specific objectives of the study; i.e., to…

This teacher's manual includes materials and descriptions of methods developed for the elementary school teacher who deals with mildly mentally retarded children in the regular classroom. The first chapter presents ideas about managing the classroom learning environment along three dimensions: preventive discipline, selected intervention…

Designed with junior high school students in mind, the activities in this booklet are offered as ways to stimulate interest in writing using as little as ten minutes of class time. The activities are arranged in six sections: (1) developing observation skills and paying attention to details; (2) word play, descriptive words, and word collections…

As a result of an open admissions policy, the City University of New York (CUNY) was faced with large numbers of students in need of instruction in the basic skills. Each college had to develop testing programs to determine placement and to diagnose individual students needs, and each was faced with the necessity of creating larger programs in…

This is the eleventh of 16 volumes of audiolingual classroom instruction in Mandarin Chinese. The course is designed to train native English speakers to Level 3 Foreign Service Institute proficiency in comprehension and speaking, and to Level 2 proficiency in reading and writing Mandarin. Facility in reading, writing, and translating texts written…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 34 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: an evaluation of college-level dictionaries for use in freshman composition; peer feedback during the writing process; the effects of formal, traditional grammar…

There are a number of reasons for using creative writing in elementary and secondary English curricula. When students practice using figurative and literal language, they improve their speaking abilities, and their language becomes more concrete, more explicit, more descriptive, and more interesting. Writing poems and short stories forces students…