Because traditional Mother Goose rhymes accustom the ear and the tongue to the musical aspects of the English language, they are particularly valuable for English-as-a-Second-Language students, and for deaf and hearing-impaired children. (BB)

Asserts that the whole-language approach is a philosophy of language learning that integrates four modes of communication--listening, speaking, reading, and writing--with a focus on content comprehension. Discusses how the approach is used as a primary component of the Florida K-5 Program of Study. (CFR)

Provides seven fully developed library media activities that are designed to be used with specific curriculum units in mathematics, music, reading/language arts, social studies, and science. Library media skills objectives, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, evaluation, and follow-up are described for each…

Describes the experimental preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, providing a brief history and an overview of their guiding educational philosophy. Notes their distinguishing features, including an image of the child's social construction of learning, cognizance of children's sense of time, involvement of parents and the community, collaboration…

Asserts that music educators have special challenges and opportunities when considering an integrated or interdisciplinary curriculum. Discusses examples of interdisciplinary teams comprised of fine arts teachers working with teachers of social studies, literature, and other subjects. Includes illustrations of a thematic curriculum web and…

Explains how the author's ideas about the development of the mind and forms through which its contents are revealed developed. Also, explores uncertainties the author has felt about educational philosophy and practice, and discusses implications for future educational research that does justice to the development of human intellectual capacities.…

Presents some suggestions for nurturing and supporting emergent readers and writers (e.g., recognize drawing as an important step in early literacy, engage children in conversations about their daily experiences). Also presents an interview with two authors on the special literacy needs of students with major instabilities in their lives. (SM)

Discusses how teachers can use folk songs to explore American history, to teach music, and to improve students' reading and writing skills in one integrated project. (BB)

Contends that preservice art education should provide students with a balance between practices and the need for school reform. Describes an action research program in which preservice students add descriptions of effective instruction, summaries of classroom research, and case studies to a hypermedia program used by other students. (CFR)

Describes how the curriculum of a tenth-grade world literature class, with an emphasis on literary genres, was transformed to a curriculum concerned with ethical choices and their consequences within an array of individual and social contexts. Shows how this conversation about ethical choices and dilemmas in her students' lives transformed how the…

Examines a number of trends in higher education that threaten to undermine the status, role, and even existence of liberal arts colleges. Looks at competitive marketing, merit-based student financial aid, private support for state schools, and the heavy influence of price on student choice. Keeping these factors in mind can allow universities to…

Traces perspectives on gender and gender discrimination over the last several decades, as they affect schools and English classrooms. Discusses feminism/feminisms, "add women and stir," sex differences, resistance and backlash, intersections of identity categories, and multiculturalism. Argues that English teachers can be powerful agents in the…

Investigates preservice teachers' attitudes toward writing and toward teaching writing after completing an innovative language-arts course that stressed process approaches and the writing workshop. Examines the influence this course had on the teaching of writing during their student teaching. Investigates how writing instruction was incorporated…

Explores how one state's draft standards addressed five areas: skill development/maintenance through inservice, existence of different teaching and learning styles, effects of varied teaching experiences, development of commonly- and rarely-used skills, and standards' potential for fostering inclusion. Nine participating teachers reported greatest…

Points out that bringing technology into the schools illuminates, and perhaps exacerbates, the advantage that students from wealthy families have over students from poorer families. Notes that advocates for technology often have an agenda that has nothing to do with students' learning. Discusses what educators can do in the face of all this. (SR)