Proposes the use of poetry field trips to provide students with actual experiences on which to base their writing on nature. Provides examples of students writings. (MDH)

Ways in which the French teacher can use print media for language skill development are offered. Classroom techniques for exploiting these texts for instruction in grammar, reading comprehension, writing, and oral expression are presented, including ideas for selecting a variety of authentic materials. (MSE)

Aims to show that children have a "functional use of drawing" which contrasts with the mechanistic stages model of drawing development. Observes that young children's images often show extended time sequences. Argues that, when considered from this viewpoint, children's drawing abilities develop gradually from a high to a low variety of…

Considers how elementary school social studies teachers can maximize the instructional use of museum resources and classroom visits to museums. Suggests teachers research museum collections and develop materials that link museum resources to social studies curricula. Offers tips on what to look for and how to develop resources for classroom use.…

Discusses teaching of critical thinking in introductory college government classes. Emphasizes identifying, evaluating, and constructing arguments as fundamental skills. Suggests text and methods for developing these skills. Argues that government classes involve too much information to allow students to retain much if taught in the traditional…

This paper describes the facilitated communication method of assisting individuals with autism to type their thoughts and presents a study involving 43 individuals (ages 3-26) who were trained in facilitated communication. A seemingly normal quality of language was produced but did not result in the eradication of other autistic-like behaviors.…

Discussion of curriculum innovation in the Department of Information Studies at the University of Sheffield focuses on a course in interpersonal skills development. Topics addressed include trends in library and information science education; transferable skills; experiential learning; a model for interpersonal skills development needed for…

An Australian study investigated differences in writing context, process, and product with 51 eighth-grade girls using word processing and pens. Findings indicated the computer classroom was more student centered, less teacher dominated, and more work focused; and quality of writing was rated significantly higher. The importance of genre in…

A study with 77 preservice teachers found that, in a reading methods course, students trained to use informal reading inventory concepts and procedures with a systematic cooperative learning approach performed better than those taught with direct instruction. In addition, the former group perceived lectures, group work, and feedback as effective.…

Summarizes the results of a study of parents' perceptions of their preschool children's emergent literacy. Notes similarities and differences between the perceptions of parents with high and low literacy levels. Suggests ways in which parents' perceptions can be used to develop effective home-school partnerships. (BB)

Commendable as it is for children to have high self-esteem, many practices advocated in pursuit of this goal may inadvertently develop narcissism through excessive preoccupation with oneself. Self-esteem is more likely to be fostered when children have opportunities to build self-confidence through effort, persistence, and accrual of skills. (SLD)

Skills that families gain in coping with transitions at the early ages of their child with visual impairments provide skills necessary for all the life-stage transitions that follow and, thus, are termed marathon skills. The transition programing of the Lighthouse Child Development Center in New York City is designed to develop those skills. (JDD)

A young man with severe to profound retardation was taught to use two different augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) aids. Although the participant learned to correctly request with both AAC devices, he later showed a strong preference for one device over the other. The value of multimodality and consideration of client preferences is…

This study found that naturalistic conversation training improved the spontaneous speech production of two children (ages three and four) with speech production disabilities. (Author/DB)

A closed-circuit television system was used with a five-year-old girl with severely limited vision to develop visual skills, especially skills related to concept formation. At the end of training, the girl could recognize lines, forms, shapes, letters, numbers, and words and could read short sentences. (Author/JDD)