Discusses 19 suggestions for improving the effectiveness of inservice programs, including conducting a needs assessment, developing clear objectives, showing examples of students' work, encouraging building supervisors to attend, and finding a good location for the inservice program. (RS)

Describes several curriculum resources that focus on eliminating sex stereotypes through nonsexist teaching strategies, activities, and material selection for middle and high school language arts, reading, and English classrooms. (RS)

Argues that summarizing, paraphrasing, and precis writing skills are important to the development of critical thinking and the ability to learn from text. Describes the use of precis writing in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom. (RS)

Argues that if writing is to help students learn, the purpose for which the writing is assigned has to change. Describes the process approach to writing for use in the classroom. Presents an example of this approach as used in a history class. (RS)

Argues that children's literature has a place in the remedial secondary school reading class. Relates the positive reaction of eleventh grade students having "Jack and the Beantree" read to them. (RS)

Reviews the third edition of this widely used assessment instrument. Concludes that the test is reliable, quick and easy to administer, and that the publishers provide many special services. Lists liabilities as lack of validity evidence, omission of reading and study skills, and lack of distinctions among different types of reading comprehension.…

Notes that the goal of interactive assessment is to discover the conditions under which a student will succeed in reading, rather than simply describing a student's current status as a reader. Illustrates the differences between static and interactive assessment by presenting a case study of a seventh grade at-risk student. (RS)

Describes the discussion continuum, a class activity that helps readers to interact with the text by taking a position that they will have to support. Notes that it promotes lively class discussion. (SR)

Presents four teaching suggestions: a thinking twist on the multiple-choice question; building active readers through debate; two-column response to literature; and motivating a soldier to form a reading habit. (SR)

Presents suggestions from 4 teachers on (1) the benefits accrued over 9 years of a visiting authors program at a middle school; (2) using 60-second synopses for better concentration; (3) structured overviews for teaching science concepts and terms; and (4) how musicians see writing differently. (SR)

Offers three suggestions from teachers regarding managing peer tutors with letters and anecdotal records; creating postcards from the famous for social studies classes; and workplace literacy, from literacy audit to learner. (SR)

Offers an eight-stage activity which promotes critical thinking. Notes that the activity starts with analysis of literary characters and culminates with presentations based on interviews of respected adults. (PRA)

Describes a "Booktalk" program at a middle school, in which groups of parents and students read the same book and then gathered at the school to discuss the books. Notes that, after group discussion, students wrote letters to their parents about the book and the discussion and that parents wrote letters back to their children as well. (RS)

Presents a classroom discussion episode broken into narrative segments with the teacher's reflective commentary on each. Uses this narrative to help understand the nature of student response to literature and the demands that response-centered teaching makes on teachers. (SR)

Investigates the effects of Pidgin English used for communication outside the classroom on Nigerian students' reading and writing. Concludes that knowledge of Pidgin English favorably affected Standard English reading comprehension but did not help writing. Notes that Pidgin-speaking students have solid linguistic competencies on which to build.…