Short evaluations of all instructional materials (books, filmstrips, cassettes, kits) adopted by the State of California in 1974 are given in the fields of English, spelling/handwriting, and literature. Piloted reading materials were also evaluated. The evaluations were performed by two or more local elementary teachers or educators and are…

This illustrated activity for primary students features the life and accomplishments of Booker T. Washington. This educator began his life as a plantation slave and later founded Tuskegee Institute, one of the first colleges that African Americans could attend. The activity tells how Booker T. Washington and his students built the Tuskegee…

Presents findings of a year-long study of a language arts portfolio-assessment system in a California middle school in which an external evaluation committee applied a rubric to student portfolios from three teachers' classes. Discusses reasons the school board chose not to adopt the portfolio system. Contains over 60 references. (SLD)

This study was conducted by members of a site of the California Writing Project in partnership with a large, urban, low-SES school district where 93% of the students speak English as a second language and 69% are designated Limited English Proficient. Over an eight-year period, a relatively stable group of 55 secondary teachers engaged in ongoing…

Much has been written about the value of teacher research for inservice teachers. Despite the existence of several studies affirming these words, studies that richly describe how student teachers learn to do teacher research and then investigate the impact of inquiry on student teachers and teacher educators, particularly in culturally and…

This article discusses an approach to teaching used at Calexico Unified School District, a California-Mexican border high school, by a group of teachers working to make teaching and learning more relevant to Chicano and Mexican students' lives and to improve their academic achievement in writing. An off-shoot of a training program for English…

Describes a project to integrate teaching of the separate language arts in three California elementary schools. Includes the philosophical statements of the project; guidelines; activities for before, during, and after reading; and a positive evaluation of the project. (HTH)

According to a 2-year study of over 1,500 middle-level classrooms in California and Missouri, most writing programs are not woven into the fabric of middle-school programs, practices, or policies. Programs are couched within the English/language arts curriculum. Four factors affect programs--teacher characteristics, commitment to middle-school…

A teacher of Limited English Proficient elementary students in California describes how she put her students through daily timed read-aloud drills to boost their scores on a benchmark assessment of reading rate that her school district required. Corn briefly reviews the rationale behind measuring reading rate as an indicator of fluency. The reason…

Designed for publishers and producers, this document initiates the annual subject area(s) adoption of basic instructional materials for California schools, kindergarten through eighth grade. The document presents an overview of the total instructional materials adoption-distribution process, specific instructions relating to initial submissions…

ENRICHED ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED BY TEACHERS ARE LISTED IN OVERLAPPING SUBJECT AREAS. MATERIALS, GAMES, AND EXERCISES IN ARITHMETIC, LANGUAGE, MUSIC, READING, SCIENCE, AND SOCIAL STUDIES ARE ALSO LISTED. EXAMPLES ARE--(1) AN OUTLINE CLASSIFYING AN INSECT AND OBSERVING ITS HABITS, (2) ARITHMETIC PROBLEMS TO DEVELOP LOGIC IN SOLVING WORD PROBLEMS, (3)…

With the introduction of the "whole language" approach to literacy and an emphasis on "across the curriculum" learning, the effective instruction of writing has taken on an added importance during the past two decades in California. Recent public demands for a "back to basics" school curriculum where the mastering of…

This book is intended as a resource for teachers and curriculum developers who select textbooks for secondary English courses. It includes a compilation of 32 factual textbook reviews obtained from the application of a review instrument, which was based on the California "Model Curriculum Standards: Grades Nine through Twelve, English…

This document describes changes in language arts instruction that are designed to recognize the unique strengths and abilities of Chapter 1 and migrant education students. The document also describes a particular vision of a new language arts program for these students, a program designed to teach to their strengths and provide them with…

California State Standard 5.2 is delineated as: Students trace the routes of early explorers and describe the early explorations of the Americas. The Age of Exploration, which began in the late 1400s, was an important era in the discovery and development of land yet unknown to Europeans. During this period, Europeans sought new sea routes to Asia…