Reviews a teaching strategy built on the body of research revealing crossword puzzles as effective means of introducing fundamental concepts and vocabulary. Discusses methods for constructing the puzzle. Student responses suggest that the puzzle was useful as a tool for both learning and review. (MJP)

Argues that effective citizenship requires geographic place knowledge. Recommends that primary students develop place vocabulary through memorization and map activities. Analyzes three social studies (grades 1-4) textbooks for attention to place vocabulary. Finds that none offers a systematic approach to place vocabulary acquisition. Introduces…

This article relates the ability to understand individual sentences both in and out of context by normal and developmentally delayed children at various developmental stages to the concept of world knowledge. Implications for assessment and treatment of sentence comprehension deficits among language-disordered students are discussed. (PB)

Familial/individual predictor variables related to reading disability were assessed, using 66 lower-to-upper-middle-class second graders. Subjects were evaluated as preschoolers, at age 60 months, and at the end of grade 2. Familial reading problems and individual differences in vocabulary, phonological awareness, and early literacy skills were…

Discusses the seed concepts constraint (SCC) principle, which suggests that the seed concepts in the intrasententially code-switched speech of the bilingual are marked in the phonetics of the first language in contradistinction to the second language. It is suggested that the SCC suffices to replace various particularistic grammatical claims…

Provides fully developed library media activities which are designed to be used in connection with seven specific curriculum units for grades one through seven. Highlights include vocabulary of sports; Dewey Decimal classification; writing fables; using nonfiction books and encyclopedias for social studies topics; and political maps in atlases.…

Describes how a shared poetry exercise, combining whole language experiences with process writing techniques, motivates remedial readers. Notes that this technique helps remedial readers achieve success in writing, build sight and meaning vocabularies, and improve reading fluency. (MM)

A study compared the effect of reading aloud to grade two French immersion students with that of participation in the normal language arts curriculum during a three-month period. Reading aloud was found to be a simple but effective adjunct to formal teaching methods for accelerating second language acquisition. (29 references) (Author/MSE)

Describes 13 practical ideas for classroom teaching at the elementary level, including writing classmates' biographies, keeping a class diary, and improving emergent readers' vocabulary with word cards. (MM)

Presents the results of a study of Francophone pupils in the French schools of Windsor, Ontario. The article gives examples of nonstandard features pervading students' French vocabulary and syntax and concludes that a hybrid vernacular may be emerging as a result of the Canadian sociolinguistic situation, creating a challenge to the teaching of…

This paper first examines specific challenges faced by learners using integrated media, including the cognitive challenges of navigation and focused attention. The paper then examines pedagogical opportunities of integrated media in the following areas: (1) developing vocabulary and reading comprehension; (2) anchoring instruction in meaningful…

Describes a computer-generated exercise that combines creative-thinking skills with practice activities in spelling and recalling vocabulary. A sample word game is included. (ZWH)

Revisits puzzleology (the study of puzzles and games in human cultures) in second language teaching to give the teacher an overview of the relevant facts "vis-a-vis" their incorporation into classroom instruction and to provide an elementary typology of puzzleological techniques for the teacher interested in incorporating them in…

Reports on three studies of the learning strategies of adult students of second languages. The research identified two distinct approaches to vocabulary learning that differed in aspects relating to independent study, self-initiated learning activities, recording of lexical items studied, review of these records, and practice of vocabulary outside…

Discusses strategies for enhancing vocabulary acquisition in first- and second-year Italian courses. The first part reviews the research on vocabulary acquisition; the second incorporates the implications of Danesi's model of neurological bimodality; the third part focuses on techniques for vocabulary elicitation; and the fourth presents examples…