The authors of this paper believe that oral art shapes the whole life of people and the whole life of people shapes their oral art. They believe that oral art reflects the moral codes, ethical principles, spiritual striving and varying needs of people while providing insights that enhance self-worth. The authors propose that these reflections are…

Argues that the strategies and goals of cooperative learning promote good citizenship and the reduction of prejudice. Reviews supporting theories and research and reports on a fifth grade's ten-week cooperative learning experience. (JDH)

Suggests that classroom exploration of the renga, a chain poem developed in eighth-century Japan, can awaken students' sense of the choices and constraints in writing. (MM)

The reading program described in this lesson plan outlines a "just for fun" book club that was a student-organized, student-driven reading experience that built community in the classroom and encouraged students to read independently, taking responsibility for their literacy learning. During 5 to 15 minute lessons every other day,…

This cookbook is designed to help teachers and librarians engage in beneficial collaborations to bring reading to the lips of students in new and "delicious" ways. The more than 200 recipes offered in the book will tempt even the most reluctant reader of any age to "nibble" at a new book. The book's recipes enhance the process…

Suggests teaching a variety of sentence beginnings in writing instruction. (AEA)

Presented are two group activities designed to raise consciousness and awareness of sexism. Activity I, the Sex Role Autobiography, allows participants to examine specific aspects of their own personal histories. Activity II, the Sexism Box, consists of small group study of sexist manifestations in our society, such as advertisements. (Author/SJL)

Presents an exercise in which the aim is to practice question-forming in a game context, and to show students how to make well-formed questions. Students are broken down into groups. One member reads a story silently. The others, provided with vague clues, must ask "yes-no" questions and reconstruct the story. (Author/PJM)

Illustrates a method of helping students learn to write paragraphs and to organize their writing using a group writing technique. (TJ)

Describes a method of teaching college composition which involves students in writing poems in collaboration with the teacher and other students. (DD)

Describes a game which can be used to acquaint students with the basic elements of narrative fiction. (DD)

Presents an activity in which students design, construct, and test "super ears" to investigate sound and hearing. Students work in groups of three and explore how the outer ear funnels sound waves to the inner ear and how human hearing compares to that of other animals. (NB)

Suggests a pragmatic framework for reading instruction that attends to the needs of learners aged 11 to 14 years who struggle. Explains that five practices--daily oral or shared reading, guided reading in flexible groups, word study, self-selected extended reading and writing, and explicit comprehension strategy instruction--form the basis of the…

Provides 13 activities related to the humane treatment of animals. Gives directions and strategies for 11 short activities, and 2 activities that require ten minutes or more to perform. Examples and drawings are included. (RT)

Presents a variation of Deming's funnel experiment to illustrate how a stable process operates and how tampering with a stable process leads to increased variability and less desirable results. The goal of the activity is to minimize product variation around the target value. Includes student handout. (Author/MKR)