Perfect for time-poor teachers, Kathy Hoopmann's essential handbook is an easy-to-navigate resource that promotes a positive learning environment in which students with Asperger syndrome (ASD) can thrive. Kathy's unique ability to explain the ASD mind-set shines through as her concise descriptions reveal how to recognise and develop the child's…

The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines are descriptions of what individuals can do with language in terms of speaking, writing, listening, and reading in real-world situations in a spontaneous and non-rehearsed context. For each skill, these guidelines identify five major levels of proficiency: Distinguished, Superior, Advanced, Intermediate, and…

As part of its proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) committed to developing model content frameworks for English language arts/literacy (ELA/Literacy) to serve as a bridge between the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC assessments. The Model Content…

Presents activities for students with or without behavior disorders that promote active learning of language arts skills, including creative thinking, writing, listing, and oral presentation. Activities begin with a lunch bag, can be adapted across grade or skill levels, and used from independent to large-group work arrangements. (Author/CR)

Suggestions are offered for strengthening the basic speech, language, and communication skills of young children with hearing impairments, during ordinary periods of interaction at home. Suggestions focus on auditory training, speech drills, and reading, as well as formal and informal language instruction for all family members. (JDD)

Methods to contextualize tests in the four skill areas of listening, reading, writing, and speech are described. The roles of grammatical and lexical cues, recording semantic details, cloze adaptation, comprehensive questions, logical continuation items, global classification, and sociolinguistic factors are examined in relation to test formats.…

Issues regarding the development of student's speaking skills and English as a second language (ESL) techniques designed to improve the teaching of conversation are described. Ten true and false assumptions about the teaching of conversation are considered: (1) everyone enjoys talking and participating in class discussion; (2) discussion topics in…

Education is the building block of every student's future. To ensure all students have every opportunity to succeed, Indiana adopted world-class academic standards in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies and an assessment system to measure student progress. These standards clearly outline what students should know and be…

This document is intended to assist curriculum developers in the review and revision of ESL curricula to ensure alignment to the overarching goal of teaching English language learners to use English to achieve academically in all content areas. This document is organized around the goals and standards of the New Jersey language arts literacy…

This guide for scholars presents a step-by-step process for planning and delivering an effective presentation. Chapter 1 discusses the four principles that underlie all presentations: (1) responsibility to the audience; (2) making conscious decisions about what to present; (3) making decisions before, during, and after the presentation; and (4)…

This document provides basic skill performance expectations for all Oregon students by the end of grade 11 to be incorporated into 15 vocational programs. (Exceptions are that in technology education, the skills identified are only for grade 8; in home economics, the identified skills are for grades 8 and 11.) The skills, which are in reading,…

Drama can act as a bridge between the classroom and the real world in teaching students to communicate in a second language. Teaching techniques using drama to help improve students' pronunciation of English as a second language are described, as they relate to articulation, pitch, volume, rate, and variety. (CB)

This paper provides activities and suggestions for foreign language teachers to use to enhance their students' self-esteem. Teachers should: (1) have students speak, write, and read the target language on the first day of class; (2) help students overcome test anxiety by focusing on what they did right, experimenting with different testing…

It was once thought that research skills were too cognitively demanding for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. This paper presents guidelines for teaching the research process to secondary ESL students at both beginning and advanced language proficiency levels. The following steps related to writing and presenting orally a research…

This handbook for basic education tutors of mentally handicapped adults offers ideas and examples for developing the skills of speaking, reading, and writing with understanding. Many of the ideas relate particularly to group work, although most can be adapted for use with individual students. The handbook starts by exploring four broad themes--the…