This pioneering book, by one of the founders of the media literacy field, provides evidence of the impact of media literacy on the academic achievement of adolescents. Read about the practice of high school teachers who prepared their students to critically analyze all aspects of contemporary media culture. These teachers incorporated popular and…

Argues that curricular revision (in the direction implied by widespread adoption of terms such as "canon" and "theory") has been accomplished with little overhauling, in large part by adding non-White, nonmale, nonclassical writers to traditional courses. Argues that reading new works is not the same as arriving at new…

Provides school administrators and school districts without clearly defined policies for handling censorship cases with 10 steps by which to deal with such cases. Details how censorship cases should be dealt with by school boards and administrators. (HB)

Outlines current critiques of U.S. higher education. Describes the activities and findings of the Illinois state task force on assessment of language arts in the 1980s. Describes how Illinois State University's English department defined the goals of English majors and dramatically altered the curriculum. (HB)

Forty-eight colleges and university English departments were asked to list books incoming students should have read before entering their institutions. From this listing the authors define what secondary students should read and what analytic skills such well-read students should develop. They present a three-point plan for developing a secondary…

Shows how a school writing program based on the National Writing Project model can be presented in the framework of a simple accountability system devised by Leon Lessinger. (FL)

Contains 19 standards for basic writing programs, covering teaching and learning, support, and program evaluation, developed by the Committee on Writing Standards of the National Council of Teachers of English for the United States Office of Education. (DD)

Surveys National Council of Teachers of English Centers of Excellence to learn how good English curricula develop. Discusses the Center of Excellence's origins and development, curriculum approval process, implementation, evaluation and assessment, funding, and obstacles. Concludes that the Centers of Excellence offer a highly professional,…

Discusses Great Britain's General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), its oral evaluation component, and its approach to language and literature. (MM)

Describes a five-meeting cycle which enables a high school English department to cooperate in making constructive curriculum changes. (DD)

Describes several projects designed to involve parents in their child's English education. (MM)

Lists and describes three manuals that provide rationales for the use of frequently challenged books. Presents an index to the rationales concerning specific titles covered in the manuals. (HB)

Presents eight responses from practicing teachers to the question, "What have you learned about record-keeping in the classroom that you would like to share with beginning teachers?" (HB)

The District of Columbia Public Schools has adopted new learning standards for core subjects, including reading/English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The new standards show what students should know and be able to do: (1) in each subject; (2) at each grade level; and (3) in every school. Standards tell all students that…

Intended for teachers, curriculum designers, and administrators, this annotated list of recommended curriculum guides provides models of carefully planned, well-written curricula, in the English language arts. The booklet's three sections contain curriculum guides recommended in 1985, 1984, and 1983. In each section, the guides are organized into…