Noting that enthusiasm for teaching has everything to do with attitude and a willingness to change and collaborate, this book discusses how an experienced teacher approaches teaching fourth-grade students in a school in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Topics covered include setting up the classroom, organizing for teaching, individualizing instruction,…

These two journal issues present articles on the following: "Understanding and Teaching American Cultural Thought through English Metaphors" (Carl Zhonggang Gao); "An Alternative Model for Novice-Level Elementary ESL Education" (Karen Duke, Ann Mabbott); "Wisconsin's Approach to Academic Assessment for Limited-English…

This book is the result of an effort by English language arts teachers and foreign language teachers to collaborate with the understanding that writing improves student learning across the curriculum, and that increased mastery of writing skills in a student's first language will improve foreign language learning. This fact notwithstanding, few…

This report describes a strategy for infusing computer technology into the essay composition process in order to enhance student achievement. The targeted population consisted of freshman high school students in a middle class community in central Illinois. Problems related to the use of computer technology in the learning process were documented…

Papers from the 1998 international conference on the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) include: "The Future of English: Where Unity and Diversity Meet" (David Crystal); "Maximizing Student Writing and Minimizing Teacher Correction" (Phil Quirke); "How the Camel Got Its Hump: Bringing Literature…

The study examines the population of long-term students of English as a second language (ESL), those who are enrolled in ESL programs for four to eight years but have not mastered the cognitive and academic skills in English to compete at grade level, in one New York City (New York) high school, and the efforts being made to address this…

Examines a six-step "lesson plan" for teaching writing. Details the pairing of eighth-grade students with first graders about whom they will write a story, the collection of information about the main character, the composition and revision of the stories, and the sharing of the final product with the students participating in the project. (AA)

Briefly describes 22 reports on language-related research relevant to Southeast Asia, detailing study aims, methodology, researchers, and sponsors for studies conducted in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. (CB)

Contends that understanding history is more than remembering isolated facts: it involves interpreting, hypothesizing, and evaluating. Provides recommendations for preparing elementary students for the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS). (CFR)

Reports on a study of 126 secondary English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' transfer of essay organization skills between languages (Icelandic and English). Pre- and posttest proficiency scores were analyzed. It was concluded that students' success in transferring writing skills between languages is assisted by their grammatical proficiency…

Contends that the importance of incorporating music and arts education into the general curriculum has always been emphasized, but the subjects are generally taught separately. Asserts that interdisciplinary efforts have been strengthened during the past decade and bring new opportunities to include music in the general curriculum. (CFR)

Discusses research on the importance of context and social interaction on the development of school literacy, particularly writing development, concentrating on five classes of Latino elementary school students. Specific features of institutional contexts that shape writing process instruction are identified. Necessary broadening of current…

A review of research on second-language writing instruction looks at four research approaches: the language and culture students bring with them to the classroom; contexts in which teaching/learning take place; the shape of the language curriculum; and academic writing and English for academic purposes. Attention is given to English as a Second…

Describes the Better Together project and website, which connected preservice teachers with seventh-grade reluctant readers through pen-pal correspondences and email, a variety of small and large group technology-based activities, tutoring, and classroom visits and teaching. Offers descriptions from two of the preservice teachers. Discusses…

This article explores the concept of writer identity and its influences as constructed by a group of college writers. Using a poststructural and sociocultural perspective, it takes a stand regarding the politics of language and the teaching of writing, especially as they relate to students whose racial, ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds…