Examines the dialog of 82 secondary school students in Glasgow (Scotland) (13 male, 12 female, and 16 mixed-sex pairs) working in pairs on a computer-presented task to determine gender differences in expression of opinion. Implications of the differences between genders in interaction style and manner of progress through the task are discussed.…

Interviewed 25 high school juniors, 4 counselors, and 4 English teachers to determine their perceptions concerning guidance-language arts career unit. Findings suggest that all groups felt positively about unit. Students also felt positively about cooperative effort and what they gained from their involvement. (NB)

Examines selected factors associated with classroom climate (satisfaction, friction, competition, difficulty, cohesiveness) as perceived by fourth-grade students and explores the relationship between those factors and student academic achievement in the areas of reading, math, and language. Findings indicate that climate plays a relatively minor…

Presents six curriculum guides for art, language arts, reading, science, and social studies. Each activity identifies library media skills objectives, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, librarian and teacher instructional roles, activity and procedures for completion, activity samples, guidelines for evaluating finished activities,…

Examines a hypothetical curriculum development plan for Texas schools, focusing on the integration of technology skills into seventh-grade history, mathematics, language arts, and science, as well as teacher inservice training. A sidebar outlines technology integration activities for Texas history, the stock market, spreadsheets, creative and…

A Cambridge, Massachusetts, alternative public school's basic reading program is a rich combination of whole language and individualized phonics. Other strategies to hook kids on reading include 20-minute recreational reading periods with parent volunteers, a weekly book-bag program, reading buddies, special projects, and community helpers from…

Describes the "Women of Accomplishment" program, designed to teach a sixth-grade language-arts class about significant women from history. Students read about their subjects in books and used HyperStudio to create stacks that included pictures; they then presented their projects to parents. Discusses lessons learned and future plans.…

Shows that, despite the pendulum swings from the 1930s to the present, reading-achievement levels have remained constant, and one-third of children do not learn to read well. Argues that reading is a multidimensional activity, and that a massive effort is needed to implement multidimensional curricula that empower all children by providing them…

Examines issues in the assessment of the special educational needs of children for whom English is a second language, and identifies notions that actually prevent good practices. Urges more attainable practices that focus assessment on the learning environment, including the "where,""with whom,""from whom,""when,""what," and "how" of the child's…

Examines the victory of California's Proposition 227, which mandated English-only instruction, and two viewpoints that reflect conflicting analyses of why Proposition 227 passed. To influence future decision making, bilingual-education advocates must learn to participate more effectively in policy debate without distorting research or denouncing…

Describes a family-literacy experience created through collaboration between a university and a community agency. College students enrolled in English-as-a-Second-Language and Early-Childhood courses participated in weekly literacy experiences with refugee families. Thematic coding of students' written reflections on the experience identified two…

Examined how child and family factors influence individual differences in the language development of African-American children between 18 and 30 months of age. Found that vocabulary and utterance length increased linearly. Children from more stimulating and responsive homes had larger vocabularies, used more irregular nouns and verbs, and had…

Presents overview of the University of Surrey (UK) MA in Linguistics (TESOL) by distance-learning program and discusses quality-assurance measures such as learner-content (topic-focused bibliographies, study guides, updated modules, resource centers), learner-instructor (feedback, tutoring, pastoral visits, assessment and grievance procedures,…

This article describes the development of a school-based dysphagia team (swallowing action team (SWAT)) in Louisiana. It addresses how the team was initially formed, the process of identifying students who were exhibiting a swallowing disorder, steps taken for staff development, and problems encountered in seeking administrative approval.…

The Language Academy initiative enabled the San Francisco Unified School District to transform remedial, compliance-based programs for English language learners into standards-based language-learning programs for all students. Administrators relied on stakeholder involvement, coherent policy, and quality program design to achieve their goal of…