To help correct the improper emphasis on media as "aids" rather than as integral parts of education, teachers in a media laboratory investigated the potential of the electro-chemical media in learning, not denying the importance of reading and writing. The schema developed to order and integrate this kind of learning is called the wheel. Arranged…

Numerous topics related to the teaching of English are discussed in this paper. Separate sections deal with changes in the teaching of English between 1965 and 1975 and problems faced by English teachers and by schools in 1975; topics that may be discussed at departmental meetings in an attempt to work out a detailed rationale for a school's…

The final report of the year long Interdisciplinary Support Classes Project at Banks High School, Banks, Oregon, is presented. Six cluster and noncluster staff members were involved in jointly developing and improving student instruction through interdisciplinary approaches. Outcomes for the 300-310 students in grades 9-12 included the development…

This study examined selected procedures chosen by the Commission on English of the CEEB for improving secondary school English teaching. The purpose was to evaluate the outcomes of such procedures by means of criteria derived from general principles in curriculum development. Specific questions of the study involved the Commission's objectives,…

Fourteen papers collected under three headings--literature, language, and composition--consider what lies ahead in the teaching of elementary school English. Papers on literature cover the role of literature in elementary English programs (Alan S. Downer), the necessity for developing the student's imagination (James E. Miller, Jr.), the nature of…

Over 150 teachers and administrators contributed practices and ideas to this first report of the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Promising Practices in the Teaching of English. From these the committee identifies three national trends: (1) a growing sense of responsibility by the federal government to encourage and implement…

Examines the controversy over what should make up core curriculum and whether topics such as values clarification, visual literacy, thinking skills, and computer literacy should be included in such curriculum. (JC)

Examines positions on English education reform in the early 1900s, specifically the following professional concerns: finance, curriculum, teacher recruitment, and professional leadership. Notes that attitudes and circumstances of the past are repeated in the present. (JG)

Considers what literature does, its role in a child's education, and how it might be taught. Advocates the use of adolescent literature in the classroom. (NKA)

This paper attempted to determine whether increasing technology, specifically a computer-based instructional approach, into the curriculum increases student learning, focusing on effects on student attitudes and self-efficacy. Participants were 47 fifth graders in a private school. One group received computer-based instruction in English grammar,…

Offers suggestions for using rap lyrics to teach language skills. A brief overview of the sociocultural dimension of rap music and its literature, a theoretical orientation for the instructional methodology, and a curriculum model are presented. The prevalence of these musical forms can make them a valuable aid. (SLD)

In developing a college English course on reading and writing in the information age that would make use of the Internet and cyberspace-based science fiction, a professor encountered considerable resistance from colleagues who did not understand the language and concepts being used and who worried about crossing the boundaries into other…

Describes how the author's eighth-grade students went on a yearlong search to find the literature of the twenty-first century. Describes how the students read widely, chose their own books, evaluated them according to topic questions loosely based on the theme of breaking stereotypes, kept and shared journals, and carried out projects of their…

Information on current trends and issues informally discussed and then delineated by the directors of six National Council of Teachers of English commissions, is presented in this 13th annual report. The commissions and their directors are: (1) Commission on Curriculum (Dorothy King); (2) Commission on Composition (Christine Kline); (3) Commission…

Based on the premise that print, oral, and media literacy are crucial in today's complex world, this handbook outlines a model for communication arts curricula that will lead to the production of literate, competent users of communication arts processes. The main purpose of the handbook is to serve as a tool for teachers and curriculum writers in…