A letter from an eighth grade teacher describing the problems students face. (DD)

Asserts that persuasive communication is an essential skill. Describes a class in which students learn to develop and deliver persuasive speeches. Note that they learn to focus their topics, understand different points of view, support beliefs with evidence, and deliver their speech in a persuasive way. (PRA)

As a new faculty member, the author was invited by colleagues to help protect a resource they believed was essential to their instructional program. The importance of teaching grammar in a didactic fashion as a precursor to student writing constituted an unchallenged belief in the department. Faculty members were committed to the notion that…

Describes a combined process writing approach and extended conference method of writing instruction applied to eighth grade students. Presents the experiences of several students who refused to write at first but soon became proud of their writing after several extended conferences. (RS)

Assesses the results of a study of spelling development on the junior high level. Concludes that spelling instruction in the upper grades is worthy of serious consideration. (NKA)

Describes the development of a teacher's renewed interest in teaching after transferring from a K-12 school to teaching the eighth grade. Discusses six points concerning the characteristics of eighth grade students. (RS)

Suggestions for teaching writing to students in grades seven and eight range from student journals to spelling bingo and other writing games. (DD)

Shares an African tale about crossing cultural boundaries which the author shares with his eighth grade class at the beginning of each year. (MG)

Discusses a list of books of varying lengths and difficulty that the reading teacher can use to help reluctant readers find that all-important breakthrough book to discover what reading can do for them. (KEH)

Describes how an English teacher incorporates the native languages of her internationally born students into her English lessons. Relates how these activities helped foreign students feel accepted into the class and their new environment. (PRA)

Describes an eighth-grade unit on World War II, in which students work in groups to create a research/presentation project. Discusses making the subject manageable, group responsibilities, evaluation of group presentations, steps leading to the lesson, results, and going beyond the subject. Offers an 87-item list of books and a 39-item list of…

Describes a four week collaborative writing unit designed to develop students' sense of audience by producing a magazine to orient fifth grade students to junior high school. Discusses how students developed the idea, conducted interviews, wrote articles, used computers to produce the magazine, and distributed copies of their magazine. (RS)

Presents several class activities for eighth and ninth graders that explore how different readings of a text are constructed, what values each reading supports, and whose interests it serves. Discusses multiple meanings, constructed readings, dominant and resistant readings, and reading character. (SR)

Describes how an intelligent and articulate eighth grade student, who could neither read nor write, was able to participate in Directed Individualized Reading (DIR) with the help of books on audiocassettes. (PRA)

Describes a successful paper exchange program between eighth-grade students and high school seniors. States that the peer evaluations created audience awareness and motivated students' writing efforts. (MM)