The 26 teaching strategies in this collection originally appeared in IDEAS PLUS, a special publication of the National Council of Teachers of English. The teaching strategies are entitled: (1) "A Dream House" (Thomas M. Cobb); (2) "A Journal-Writing Pot of Gold" (Irina Markova); (3) "Adopt-a-Word" (Annette Matherne); (4) "Contrasting Moods" (Don…

The eight stages of storyboarding described in this book will help children design original picture books with illustrations and creative stories. The 24-frame storyboarding technique described in the book forces the young author/illustrator to jump right into the story, select only the most essential aspects of the plot, and describe the actions…

One of the problems that continues to plague teachers of foreign languages at the secondary and university levels is the students' use of a "pony," or literal translation, to assist them in completing their translation assignments. Due to the wide availability of such translations and the tendency for students to choose the path of least…

For one educator, "Parents as Writing Partners" has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her teaching career. Her seventh-grade students got closer to their parents' thoughts and feelings through encouragement to reinforce their writing, conferring, and editing skills. When parents are asked to share in an assignment, they get closer to…

If personal writing empowers students to hear their own voices and to "see themselves as writers," then personal writing has value for basic writing students, whose voices have tended to be silenced and who see themselves as anything but writers. From hearing their voices in writing, and from identifying multiple sources and rhetorical…

Based on short stories and novels, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that in the 19th century, the American frontier brought both solutions and problems; and fiction writers as well as documentarians have portrayed the American frontier. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing essays…

This paper provides a descriptive account of how students in an advanced interpersonal communication course were instructed to reconstruct and/or morph their paper copies of original research papers into World Wide Web sites. Course goals and objectives are outlined, and course expectations are illustrated. The paper then reports on four paper…

One of the challenges in teaching a hybrid Basic Course in Communication is the wide variety of topics that can be covered in one semester. Two basic course instructors have found that their recently opened Basic Course computer lab gave them the opportunity to develop interdisciplinary assignments to help more efficiently address various…

Composition theory and research indicate that, whether they use a holistic or an analytic rubric, teachers should share their scoring guide with their students. Both students and teachers benefit in substantial ways when students draft and revise their written work in the context of the rubric their teachers will use to assess student writing.…

This digest presents an overview of ways that parents can encourage their child's learning in science. National and state standards for science knowledge and skills are discussed. The importance of parental guidance and encouragement in all subjects--science in particular--is also discussed. Suggestions are made for setting a good example, helping…

Cheating by students in academic assignments, especially term papers, cheating on tests, and altering or forging a university document are discussed. Efforts of the University of Maryland to crack down on cheating and to produce a workable code of student conduct are described. (MLW)

Describes a year-long collaboration to teach legal research and writing alongside civil procedure. In fall, civil procedure topics were used for writing assignments, in combination with simulation and demonstration exercises based on that case. In spring, students wrote briefs on motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment in a second case…

This study examined whether undergraduate athletic training educators wrote learning objectives that fostered critical thinking (CT) skills and whether their written assignments and examinations measured the extent to which students developed CT skills. Review of 64 usable syllabi indicated that educators fostered more CT in learning objectives…

Presents instructional materials and suggestions for using primary source documents regarding Admiral Peary's search for the North Pole. Cache notes were brief dispatches left for the press in ice hutches along with provisions and maps. Includes a photocopy of a cache note from Peary's expedition with suggested research topics and activities. (MJP)