This article employs rhetoric to examine the poetic dimensions of one performed narrative in teaching. The analysis stems from a larger study of oral narratives in classroom talk during a Holocaust unit in a middle school language arts classroom. A corpus of seventy-five teacher and student narratives was transcribed and analyzed for the broader…

Shows that traditional grammar teaching grew out of nineteenth-century beliefs about language learning and the nature of knowledge that are profoundly different from those that direct the language arts curriculum today. Bases the account on approved textbooks, Alberta Department of Education reports, public examinations, and anecdotal records. (EL)

The current state of research on language learning processes is reviewed, and the implications of that research for language arts teachers are discussed. (HTH)

This review of the literature on graphic organizers includes discussion of background readings, the research base, applications, books, journal articles, and ERIC documents. Resources on creating and managing the literate classroom and on language arts activities are also described. (MES)

Considers how the 1990s have seen a geometric increase in the incidences of censorship attempts in middle school materials, choices, and teachers' creative instructional approaches. Discusses expanding the middle school canon, anti-censorship efforts in the 1990s, and censorship activity from 1988 to 1997. Provides resources for middle school…

Outlines a set of criteria for use by teachers in selecting and evaluating educational software. (FL)

This topical bibliography and commentary highlights the major points of the available literature on the value of using a "thematic organization" for the teaching of language arts classes in grades 6 through 8. It begins with a definition of the thematic organization approach, as culled from the literature. It then presents briefly a few examples…

Discusses recent research highlighting both the child's growth as a reflective language user and the school's capacity to enhance or hamper that growth. The research is concerned with the need for children eventually to use language in decontextualized ways, without the supporting context of visible or manipulable objects or actions. (HTH)

The conventions inherent to language are explored, and demonstrations, engagement, and sensitivity are discussed as factors present in all learning situations in which a person learns to master these complex conventions. (HTH)

Provides information from the ERIC system on creative dramatics activities, outlines their advantages for handicapped children, and suggests techniques for using creative dramatics with mentally, physically, and emotionally handicapped children. (DD)

Discusses literature on the pros and cons of educational accountability in school systems, and suggests steps to take in evaluating student achievement in language arts. (CM)

Reviews research and theory to illustrate the issues that face language arts educators as they deal with gender issues in the classroom. Suggests that educators have often failed truly to face the complexity of such issues as legitimate and worthy of attention in the classroom. (RS)

The treatment of educational trends is seldom fine-grained enough to communicate the complexity of the issues involved. A "beyond-the-trend" analysis of movements and countermovements in composition, reading, literature, and oral language reveals some new wrinkles in trends that are now well established in the professional literature of English…

Reviews two vocabulary improvement programs that have recently been introduced. (FL)

Noting that learning to read and learning to write are closely linked, this paper asks why there are sometimes readers who cannot write and writers who cannot read. The paper advocates taking a closer look at the reading and writing relationship to answer the question and provide strategies for competent literacy instruction in all areas. It…