Illustrates the variety of materials available in the ERIC system, from lesson plans and teaching guides to classroom games and descriptions of individualized activities, for planning language arts lessons. (DD)

Explores the philosophy behind Haiku and discusses 11 characteristics basic to this form of poetry to help teachers better understand it. (HTH)

Recounts a classroom visit by children's poet and illustrator Karla Kuskin, and the flurry of activity and preparation that preceded her visit. (HTH)

Suggests three attitudes that teachers should cultivate to become good storytellers: awareness of the importance of telling stories, commitment to learning how to tell a favorite story, and respect for the listeners' rights to interpret the story for themselves. (AEA)

Examines professional concerns related to improving children's knowledge of language, determining what knowledge children bring to a learning environment, and promoting children's joy of learning. (RL)

The use of creative dramatics in the elementary school classroom for developing in students awareness of the world around them is discussed in this interview with Brian Way, a noted contributor in the field of drama and children's theatre. (HTH)

Presents ten activity cards which can be used in developing students' defining skills. (DD)

Discusses the art of riddling and its potential contribution to the elementary school language arts program, including a description of stages of riddling competence of children in the five-to-11 year age range and an examination of riddling efforts gathered from two classrooms. (HTH)

Seven characteristics of an effective spelling program, supported by multiple independent research studies, are examined along with their implications for learning to spell. (HTH)

Suggests approaches to the teaching of figures of speech. (DD)

Discusses the phonics v whole-word controversy in the teaching of reading and defends the use of the phonics approach for certain purposes. (DD)

Presents eleven groups of activities students can undertake which deal with sidewalks and which involve both social studies and language arts skills. (DD)

Examines the who, what, where, how, and why of informal drama instruction in the classroom, arguing that, given the current emphasis on "basics" in education, such instruction can provide one of the most basic educational experiences in language arts. (HTH)

Examines the reading and writing processes and their interdependence and urges the language arts instructor to be an audience for children's writing and to help them become aware that what they read is someone else's writing. (HTH)