Are you looking for ways to enhance and strengthen how you teach your students to write effective opinion pieces as outlined in the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards? In this teaching tip, the authors describe an innovative and dialogic approach that elementary school teachers can use and adapt as needed to strengthen students'…

With some innovations brought by the age of technology and science, storytelling has also gained different dimensions. Digital storytelling has emerged with the addition of elements such as sound, video, image, effect and music to traditional storytelling and sharing these stories on digital media. In this study, it was aimed to determine the…

When English Language Arts (ELA) students are not engaged in ELA coursework, they miss out on opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, and--most importantly--critical thinking. The purpose of these two cycles of Action Research was to investigate the authentic pedagogies of ELA teachers at Ryken private preparatory school…

Implementation of the English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards (CCSS) reduces the traditional separation between the study of different subjects. Increased focus on nonfiction reading and writing means more incorporation of other content, such as music, into language arts classes. CCSS's emphasis on speaking and writing across…

All teachers at all grade levels in all subjects have speaking assignments for students, but many teachers believe they don't know how to teach speaking, and many even fear public speaking themselves. In his new book, "Well Spoken", veteran teacher and education consultant Erik Palmer shares the art of teaching speaking in any classroom. Teachers…

In preparation for her school's celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Elizabeth Brown developed an integrated language arts and social studies one-week unit of study on the civil rights movement, where she reinforced reading, writing, and speaking skills. The overarching goals for the five-day lesson on Dr. King's "I Have a…

The purpose of this design-based experiment is two-fold: to see if classroom pedagogies can be developed to improve student achievement in English literature as well as prepare them for 21st Century literacies. Applying Bereiter and Scardamalia's theory of Knowledge Building to English curricula, this experiment tracked the progress of a…

This article centers the stories of two eighth grade students in the context of a social action literacy project. Their teacher designed curriculum that scaffolded opportunities for them to address English language arts standards while speaking out for social change. The students' responses to the project reveal their civic literacy practices, as…

"Fast Track" is a pseudonym for an accelerated, advanced language arts program for verbally gifted and high potential students in grades 6-8. The critical thinking model used for "Fast Track" was gleaned from Coalition of Essential Schools founder Ted Sizer's Habits of Mind: significance, evidence, connections, perspective, and supposition, as…

Considers ways to use creative dramatics to develop competence in speaking, listening, and--by extension--writing. (DD)

The process and elements of the actor's involvement in mounting a theatrical production are outlined and discussed, including vocal development, selecting a piece, verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and learning the part while working together onstage. Similar techniques may be used in foreign language learning activities. (MSE)

Tips for teaching oral English and drama. (CH)

Outlines techniques for using group discussion and story dramatization activities to teach speaking and listening skills to elementary students. (GW)

Outlines for the development of a language arts curriculum in the elementary grades are presented in this state curriculum guide, which can also serve as a reference for the individual teacher of the communication skills. The philosophy behind the guide, suggested uses for it, and student evaluation procedures are followed by individual teaching…