The teaching activities presented in these articles integrate language skills in the social studies curriculum in a variety of ways. The paper describes (1) producing a news program in the classroom; (2) creating "word webs" (using a core word to make associations with other words); (3) making jackdaws (a collection of anything, real or imaginary,…

The methodology developed for use in a U.S.-sponsored radio-based English language arts program for grades 1-3 in Kenya, adapted to the special circumstances of the medium, the context, and the program's administrative limitations, is a highly interactive radio lesson whose most important organizational characteristics are adherence to…

Developed for grades kindergarten through four, this book contains activities for using the newspaper as an educational resource for content area instruction. The first two sections of the book offer a pretest for determining how much students use newspapers and what they know about newspapers, and introductory information on newspaper components…

A secondary school remedial reading instructor developed activities in an effort to turn the reading lab into a learning-how-to-learn-from-the-text lab. The objectives of the two consecutive reading lab courses were to increase writing, listening, and speaking skills, as well as reading skills. The first activity was designed to help students…

This unit presents the teacher with guidelines and suggestions for a field trip to a shore. It contains information about what organisms and habitat to expect and appropriate activities. Also suggested are discussions of the people who live and work near the shore. A pre-trip planning section is presented. Sections relating to each of several…

This book offers inner-city language arts teachers suggestions to make the teaching-learning act more significant and rewarding. The compilation of innovative activities and ideas is divided into six chapters dealing with (1) the improvement of students' self-image, (2) children's literature, (3) written expression, (4) poetry, (5) oral language…

Cooperative classroom structures create more positive student attitudes and interpersonal relations. Their effect on student learning is less clear. TGT (Teams-Games-Tournament) is one cooperative-competitive classroom structure which facilitates learning mathematics and language arts. A study applying TGT to third grade reading classes is…

This fantasy unit focuses on C. S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Through the unit's 17 lessons (which correspond to the book's 17 chapters), students will read and analyze the text, using the literary elements of characterization, setting, plot, theme, character, climax, and resolution. The unit offers an overview;…

This study is a collaborative teaching/learning pedagogy that offers an alternative teaching approach to curriculum development for early childhood education in an effort to explore how to best teach a child in English language arts classroom. This study, based on Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory and Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development…

Intended for teachers of middle school, this book offers information and activities to help students appreciate and value world events from the perspective of diverse human cultures. The goals are to provide interdisciplinary and multicultural activities that integrate language, reading, and writing skills into the five content areas of social…

How have "monsters" been viewed in society, what purpose do they serve, and why are they necessary? In this language-arts-based curriculum unit for grades 9-12, students explore the ways "monsters" are depicted in literature, music, and drama. According to the unit, students will: define what a monster is; read the classic…

This 18th volume of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, or adapted ideas. Under the Ideas from the Classroom section, the August 2000 issue contains the following materials: "The Thought Pot" (Andrew R. West); "Seeing Is Reading: 'The Hollow Men'" (James Penha);…

The realities of slavery and reconstruction hit home in oral histories from the Library of Congress. In this unit of study, students research slave narratives from the Federal Writers' Project and describe the lives of former African slaves in the United States--both before and after emancipation. From varied sources, students can sample the…

This cross-curricular primary unit helps teachers and students get to know one another. Students collect information about their families, then create bulletin boards, class albums, graphs, and art projects. One activity is for students to invite their families into the classroom to share their projects and feast on traditional family foods. (SM)

Examines grammar instruction as part of Montessori's language curriculum. Suggests that teaching grammar remains, without reason, a significant part of the curriculum. Grammar instruction offers children information about language, but that is not teaching language arts. Proposes the five language arts of listening, speaking, writing, reading, and…