This study examined how instruction that encourages critical thinking about what has been read can lead to incorporated knowledge that can be retrieved and applied to other related settings. Case-based learning (an instructional method long used with graduate business, law, and medical students) is one method that can be used to foster critical…

A required freshman English course at Berkeley was designed on the assumption that: (1) students have already developed a set of sophisticated skills for reading popular culture texts--movies, television, and commercial literary genres--against and in terms of one another; and (2) these skills are not categorically different from those inculcated…

This report presents the results of the evaluation of the 1988-89 Comprehensive Instructional Management Systems-Communication Arts (CIMS-CA) program, which focused on developing a holistic communication arts curriculum and staff development program reflecting the most recent research for students in kindergarten through eighth grade;…

Using young adult literature from other countries in the classroom provides a common ground from which to build the tolerance and appreciation of cultural diversity so needed in today's world. By viewing books from other countries as artifacts of culture, it is possible to learn about other lands and their peoples. It is also possible to…

The aim and focus of holistic learning is making connections, e.g., connections between subjects or between thinking and intuition. Integrated studies implies a holistic approach to learning and a curriculum that has the capacity to combine three positions on the function of schooling: transmission of facts, skills, and values; transaction or…

Parents need to be involved in the academic lives and the literacy learning of their children. Literature is a natural way to involve parents in the process. Through a thematic unit on families, students learn about themselves and their families. Students read books with a family theme and work in literature circles on projects, papers, and…

A guide to the use of literature to teach English as a second language (ESL) begins with a discussion of the role of literature in ESL and the rationale for using it. Subsequent chapters discuss specific issues in using poetry and short stories in the ESL classroom, including the benefits, main aspects of the genres, points of entry, instructional…

The major purpose of this book is to describe the basis, features, and future of the whole language movement. Topics included in the book include: (1) a description of what is known about language and language development; (2) presentation of a whole language perspective on literacy development, involving both reading and writing; (3) presentation…

This document tracks the 1983 implementation in 11 New York City schools of the Program to Raise Educational Performance (PREP), designed for ninth graders who do not meet high school entrance requirements. Under the program, students may enter high school, take credit courses, and also receive special support and theme-related remedial reading…

The instructional program described in this guide is designed to provide a sequential language arts curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12. Information contained in the guide includes (1) a statement of philosophy; (2) language arts objectives for each grade level; (3) a guide to language arts skills; (4) learner outcomes for grades one…

The English curriculum for grades 10-12 at Kansas High School, a small rural school in Eastern Illinois, consists of mini-courses with an enrollment of 7-20 students. Students must pass the ninth grade English course before they are permitted to register for mini-courses; they are required to take English as sophomores and juniors. During this…

Designed to be immediately useful and practical for language arts teachers in the secondary schools, the six articles in this monograph are illustrative not only of methods but of pedagogical processes that are the components of successful teaching. The first article offers more than 20 ways of motivating and involving the nonreader and describes…

Recently, the use of thematic units in the teaching of language arts at the secondary level has significantly increased. This document discusses the theory and practice of using thematic units. The first section provides an overview of the use of thematic units and shows how such units can aid in teaching students about the composing process,…

Descriptions of nine humanities programs supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities at two- and four-year colleges are presented in this document. These include a 15-hour team taught interdisciplinary program for technology students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (Georgia); the Bay Area Writing Project, aimed at strengthening…

It is proposed that teachers of Chinese expose their students to traditional critical views of Chinese poetics and criticism through careful selection of poems. This approach to language study is based on the assumption that the student may gain insight and appreciation of Chinese poetry as well as a feeling for the culture. Arguments favoring…