Focusing on the middle grades (4-8), this book promotes an integrative and thematic approach to curriculum development. The book provides mini-lessons organized around three interactive constructs: the purpose for communicating, the audience, and the organization of the content to be communicated. Separate chapters in the book on each of five…

This very brief item discusses the tendency of the highly gifted to be argumentative by nature, a characteristic described as being embedded in personality structure as well as measurable by two traits, perceiving and judging, in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A number of suggestions are provided to parents and teachers for techniques to use in…

This paper summarizes the results of a research project completed by three doctoral students enrolled in an advanced curriculum development course at the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg). The students used a mock trial format to consider reasons to support establishment of a national curriculum (concerning the American public's…

This article presents two developmental studies of discourse patterns in student writing. Results from two projects are presented: (1) the NORDWRITE project (1986-1989; Norwegian argumentative material from grades eight and nine) and (2) a comparison of argumentative writing in grades eight and nine with foreign language argumentative writing at…

Specialists committed to an examination of speech communication patterns have emphasized the interpersonal aspects of communication over the intrapsychic realities of various subjective statuses. If the rhetorical model operates at a psychological level, invention and disposition might be said to characterize the thinking mode, perhaps growing out…

Designed for a minimum amount of teacher supervision, this guide consists of introductory practice and evaluative activities for teaching secondary school students about critical judgment. A sample grade ladder and calendar help students self-schedule and keep track of their grade and points. The activity unit is preceded by a teacher rationale,…

Noting the persistence of presidential "story" despite its critics, this paper maintains that presidential storytelling involves rhetorical skill and yields rhetorical benefits, and thus qualifies as strategic discourse. Initially examining presidential stories disguised as reports, termed "presidential episodes," the paper…

To make introducing logic to college students in speech and expository writing classes more interesting, letters to the editor can be used to teach logical fallacies. Letters to the editor are particularly useful because they give students a sense of the community they live in (issues, concerns, and the spectrum of opinion), they are easily…

The debate among scholars on the historical and contemporary significance of the Founding period of the United States still continues and important questions still need to be addressed. The extent to which current judicial decisions should be governed by the intentions of the Framers, and whether contemporary historical approaches tend to…

The increase in the incidence and mortality rates of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) for Americans in the United States suggests that health communicators need to reach sexually active Americans with prevention information. If successful interpersonal communication skills can be cultivated,…

A survey of colleagues in the communication discipline sought to assess the future of rhetoric and public address as an integral part of curriculum and degree programs. A trend that appeared in the remarks was that scholars in the field of rhetoric have too long eschewed the broadening of the concept of rhetorical criticism. Rhetoric should be…

John Searle's treatment of declarations in his (1976) classification of speech acts is examined. Some acts that are classified as declarations by that theorist, especially certain ones relating to religious rituals and literary usage, do not fit the definition of that class and should be reclassified, either in another one of Searle's classes…

The erosion of students' ability to use the printed word caused by electronic media has led some communication scholars to predict that a new literacy of communication may be needed for the future. Activities enhancing awareness and analysis of telecommunications and performance in telecommunications can easily be integrated into the speech…

Supreme Court decisions tend to take the form of either (1) an act of justification or argumentation that defends the verdict of the communicator, or (2) a construction of a new symbolic reality that influences the world view of its audience. The "Roe vs. Wade" decision is an example of the merger of these two rhetorical functions. The…

Rhetorical ethos, or the character of the rhetor as she presents herself in discourse, is vital to the success of any student attempting to enter the universe of academic discourse. According to Aristotle, ethos is demonstrated by showing good sense, good character, and good will. However, in the modern university, with the diversity of…