The literature selections serving as the basis for writing assignments in the articles in this journal issue range from time-honored English classics ("Beowulf,""Sir Gawain and the Green Knight") and American standards ("A Farewell to Arms,""The Scarlet Letter") to contemporary fiction. The articles deal with works by women writers (Shirley…

Based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1984 assessment of the writing achievement of American school children, this report presents national and demographic subgroup achievement results for students in grades four, eight, and eleven, and discusses students' attitudes toward writing and instruction. The first chapter…

Reading comprehension skills can be taught effectively across the curriculum leading to enhanced critical thinking and reading skills, as well as improved performance in content areas. Skilled readers plan their approach to the task at hand, monitor their learning as they read, apply strategies to foster learning, evaluate, and if necessary,…

The usefulness of studying thought processes in the construct validation of ability tests was examined using a sample consisting of 343 Canadian senior high school students. Four levels of probing were used by the interviewer to examine the students' thinking processes while taking the Test on Appraising Observations: (1) think aloud; (2)…

Part of the Alberta (Canada) Education's "Program of Studies for Elementary Schools, 1978" (amended 1981), this publication presents the curriculum specifications for the grade six language arts achievement test. These curriculum specifications integrate a taxonomy of levels of thinking skills with a set of five communications…

The proceedings of the thirteenth annual meeting of the College Reading Association consisted of the following papers: (1) "President's Address" (U. Price); (2) "Critical Reading-Critical Thinking and College Reading" (J. Follman); (3) "Cloze Procedure as a Predictor of Comprehension in Secondary Social Studies…

Before students are able to write fairly original, successful, critical essays on literature, they need to become experienced members of the audience for whom they will write, sharing fully the social context of critical writing by becoming part of an interactive, interpretive community. This reader-response technique appears to be the best…

The Sequential Mathematics Sequence provides an integrated course of study for grades 9-11 in New York City. This document presents lesson plans for part two of the second-year course, designed for tenth grade. The curriculum interweaves algebra, geometry, logic, probability, statistics, and trigonometry, with the emphasis in the 60 lessons in…

Issues concerning world peace and security, as well as other controversial issues, should receive more attention in the school curriculum. An increasing number of studies on student perceptions of war and peace consistently suggest that students are acutely aware of the nuclear threat. Moreover, student knowledge about war-related issues increases…

A study investigated whether semantic feature analysis (SFA) significantly improves the content related vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension of adolescent, learning disabled readers. SFA is a set of vocabulary development activities designed to help students categorize vocabulary words and compare related ideas. Subjects, 62 learning…

This curriculum guide consists of five learning modules designed to guide students through an inquiry strategy that will help them to see the developing world and groups within the United States experiencing development problems, through the eyes and experience of that population. Each lesson is divided by sections on objectives, set induction or…

Belle Fourche High School in South Dakota has developed a curriculum for an entrepreneurial approach to education. This paper contains the history of the school's adoption of this program, as well as course descriptions and standards. In 1988, Belle Fourche High School, Black Hills Special Services Cooperative, and the McREL (Mid-Continent…

The Jackson State University Critical Thinking and Outcome Measures Program, whose academic focus is curriculum reform, is described in this report. The program guides students in developing the skills to think critically, to reason clearly, to express their thoughts cogently, to value open and thoughtful dialogue, and to be receptive to the free…

While young children's problem-solving models are not as elaborate as those of older students, they share an important belief, namely, that writing and reading are fundamentally purposeful acts of communication. Focusing on the interpretation of process, in particular on writing and reading as forms of problem-solving that are shaped by…

A compilation of nine social studies activities suitable for immediate application in the classroom includes teaching ideas for middle school, secondary school, and college teachers. Activities include the use of (1) geographic skills to understand the use of solar radiation and available wind power, (2) questions to help students understand…