This study investigated the effects of two instructional components, literature logs and instructional conversations, on the story comprehension and thematic understanding of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. Subjects were 5 teachers and 116 fourth- and fifth-grade students; slightly over half were ESL learners in their first or second…

A two-part study examined the use of communication strategies by two types of international teaching assistants (ITA) in the classroom, and cultural perceptions of teaching and teachers. Two representative kinds of ITAs were hypothesized to exist: (1) a type "X" ITA who has tight control of discussion in class, calls on students instead…

The newspaper can be a stimulating and effective teaching resource in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom, bilingual classroom, or any class with limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. ESL teachers can use English-language newspapers to teach both basic language skills and content areas (math, science, social studies). Mainstream…

Providing teacher educators with a model of university-school collaboration, this book explores ways of breaking through children's sense of isolation from other children and shows by example what it means to break through a similar isolation that teachers often experience. Written in the form of a professional dialogue, the book deals with such…

A study examined a resistant student's interactive discursive practices within a participant framework. Data were taken from observations, audiotapes, and transcripts of teacher-led small group discussions in two sixth-grade classrooms at a public urban middle school. Seven visiting teachers from a university and 56 students in the two classes…

Intended for teachers who work with culturally mixed student populations in Canada, this book is about methods of classroom and curriculum organization that promote effective cognitive and affective development in a linguistically and racially diverse setting. The book focuses on developing practical approaches to and techniques for small group…

The case study of a Bulgarian immigrant child's literacy education in English as a Second Language (ESL) is presented. Focus is on the boy's literacy development within the context of a mainstream kindergarten/first grade classroom in Australia. The report details the teacher's observations in the classroom and particularly in the child's writing…

A study investigating difficulties encountered by Chinese graduate students in asking questions in the American classroom, and suggested solutions, are presented. An introductory section describes features of the Chinese educational system, focusing on attitudes toward questioning. The first chapter offers sociolinguistic and pragmatic…

Calls for increased student involvement in mathematics classroom learning situations are due primarily to the recognition that a traditional lecture/demonstration format within school mathematics instruction is not effective in fostering and promoting students' problem-solving abilities, mathematical reasoning power, and mathematical communication…

This portrait of a middle school literature classroom is one of a series of several such portraits which depict diverse classroom settings of high school literature, and which result from the second year of a teacher-research project in the greater Albany, New York area. This article portrays teacher Will Blake and his honors class at an urban…

In recent years progress has been made in facilitating the acquisition of interpersonal English language skills through the use of new approaches such as the Total Physical Response (TPR) method, which is based on the premise that second language learning involves the same stages as those evidenced in first language acquisition. TPR-Plus, an…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet describes five situations where writing and speaking experiences are used as a way to learn subject matter. The first section of the booklet describes the learning that takes place in the home, where writing and…

A performance curriculum communicates with students, teachers, administrators, counselors, and taxpayers. Its heart is a series of statements which explain in observable terms what the teacher will accept as evidence that what is to be learned has been learned. Such statements allow: true teacher-pupil understanding; individually diagnosed and…

This handbook was developed to help the teacher deal successfully with physical problems involved in having a child with cerebral palsy mainstreamed into the regular classroom. Characteristics of cerebral palsy are described, and it is pointed out that most children with this affliction have average or above average intelligence. Classroom…

Only by examining the way teachers actually use instructional time and engage students in the teaching-learning process can educators gain a clearer understanding of student learning. A critical examination of students' opportunity to learn should include the goals a teacher holds for students and the tasks assigned, the teaching methods utilized,…