Provides a number of nontextbook methods for teaching writing, including the use of films, art, guest speakers, newspaper articles, and student notebooks. (RL)

Presents advice on organizing and publishing a school newspaper in the junior high or middle school English class. (RL)

Relates personal experiences and applies Freud's theory of humor to explain why teachers should not treat the study of comedy too seriously in the English classroom. (RL)

Fourteen teachers present their views on the things that make English instruction difficult and the things that should be most important in English instruction during the 1980s, including curriculum design, writing instruction, student attitudes, teacher burnout, and grammar instruction. (RL)

Explains why reenacting trial scenes from literature should be a useful reading, writing, and speaking activity in English classrooms. (RL)

Reviews what recent research into speaking-writing relationships has to say about a particular problem of unskilled writers--those who tend to write as if they were talking. Examines the differences and interdependence of oral dialogue and written monologue. (RL)

Examines the appeal of oral histories--their intimacy, authenticity, seeming reliability, and panoramic as well as sharply focused presentations of human life--and the possibilities they offer as subject matter in English classrooms. Provides lists of oral histories and "how-to" books on oral history. (RL)

Expresses concern for developing critical thinking skills as they apply to electronic media, such as television advertising and new programing. (RL)

Presents opposing positions on returning teacher education to the academic disciplines. (JL)

Suggests that the works of Willa Cather can be used to introduce students to the skills and outlooks needed to read literature. (JL)

Describes a spelling program evolved out of reading in research and personal experimentation that focuses on teaching spelling generalizations, spelling demons, and words students misspell in their own written work. (JL)

Recommends using young adult literature to teach basic composition skills. (JL)

Discusses the problems of evaluating creativity, and explains a particular approach used by the author. (JL)

Presents a guide for the young writer seeking publication. (JL)

Explains how having students write "found poems" by using the card catalog helps introduce the card catalog to students while also serving as an introduction to poetry. (JL)