First presented as papers in a symposium on literacy conducted at the University of Alabama, essays in this volume explore three areas of human literacy--law, linguistics, and the English language; testing; and literacy's relation with culture and human consciousness. Following an introduction examining literacy as a human problem, the following…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The five titles deal with the following topics: (1) a comparison of manuscript writing at the beginning of first grade with reading achievement at the end of first grade, (2) using text comprehension as a metaphor for understanding…

Personal and professional characteristics of student teachers and cooperating teachers and their relation to supervision were studied. Conferences between 20 student teachers and their cooperating teachers were analyzed. Participants self-administered five instruments at the beginning, middle, and end of the student teaching experience: the…

As an accompaniment to the grade 5-8 bilingual-bicultural social studies text focusing on Navajo history, the guide helps the teacher assist students through learning experiences designed to develop inquiry and social studies skills; reinforce Navajo and English literacy, communication, and math skills; and enhance appreciation and respect for…

This document presents the 1988 National Hispanic Leadership Conference's agenda on the following major issues: (1) civil rights; (2) corporate and philanthropic responsibility; (3) criminal justice; (4) culture and language policy; (5) economic development policy; (6) education; (7) employment and economic security; (8) health and mental health;…

This paper focuses on the nature and effectiveness of elementary transition classes (TCs) used by the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) as an alternative to retention to improve low achievers' achievement. Data were examined concerning the number and nature of TCs operating in the AISD during 1987-88; achievement progress of…

A study identified related skills needed in five diploma programs offered in the Technical Division of John C. Calhoun State Community College in Decatur, Alabama. The programs were automotive technology, refrigeration/air conditioning, electrical technology, design drafting technology, and cosmetology. Thirty-five area businesses and industries…

This paper describes classroom activities developed around constructivist learning theories (that is, students are always learning because they are constantly constructing their own personal meanings and reflecting on them) as they are applied to English as a Second Language and remedial English students in a secondary classroom dominated by…

A guide for secondary school practitioners provides strategies for motivating limited-English-proficient (LEP) students to continue their education at least through the secondary level. The guide is based on the project handbook from a Kenwood, Oklahoma community-based dropout-prevention project. The guide begins by presenting dropout statistics,…

This grade 3 interdisciplinary resource unit uses Evansville, Indiana and the Ohio River as its focus for social studies, language arts, mathematics, and science lessons. Text, pictures, and maps are provided to teach social studies lessons in history, geography, and map skills, and the student exercises include tests on vocabulary words and map…

This manual was developed to help regional administrators and teacher educators conduct inservice training for local teachers who teach writing in preparation for the new General Educational Development (GED) test. The manual is organized in six sections. The first section explains the rationale for the GED writing sample and outlines what the…

An alternative curriculum for Freshman Composition, designed to help students develop cognitive skills useful for academic writing in other courses, involves eight discipline-specific assignments, building from relatively simple writing tasks such as taking lecture notes and keeping an academic journal, through book reports, essay examinations,…

A conference workshop for foreign language teachers on improving articulation between high schools and colleges, and the efforts resulting from the articulation in one district, are described by a participant from a community college. The session brought together 30 teachers committed to taking responsibility for colleague cooperation in their…

Designed as the first in a proposed set of three documents to be used to review elementary school programs in California, this guide describes the quality criteria used to judge program effectiveness for students. Criteria for a quality school program are provided in 13 areas: reading; written language; school effectiveness; special needs; oral…

The process through which the basic principles and concepts of computer programming language are acquired by children was investigated via the development and testing of a teaching unit for fourth and sixth grade students. This unit had three components: (1) basic programming without variables; (2) basic programming with variables; and (3)…