Describes a secondary English unit on the rural heritage of the United States that sharpens knowledge and skills in the humanities, including English, art, music, and history. Rural music, magazines and literature, historical materials and biographies, and field trips are suggested. A bibliography of materials is included. (DF)

Describes a series of procedures that can objectively measure student growth in interdisciplinary humanities courses at the secondary or college level. Preinstruction and postinstruction assessments determine student attitudes, responses to literature, art, and music, and knowledge of course content; midcourse individual conferences are also used.…

Describes a number of thematic units that integrate work in various disciplines, including language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. Among the topics of the suggested units are time, survival of the fittest, nature, Mexico, the history of the West, animals, and bridges. (DF)

Describes 16 activities that use student-created visual arts to teach conventional reading skills such as organizing sequences and remembering details. Activities suggested include: illustrating poems, descriptions, and stories; designing scenery and costumes; making pictures, book covers, cartoons, and books; and a listening game. (DF)

Describes interdisciplinary English programs in the following areas: reading, study, and communication skills; career exploration; humanities instruction; and social concerns. A bibliography is included. (DF)

Challenges the identification of literacy with intelligence and abstract reasoning ability. Suggests nonverbal projects as a way of broadening the definition of intelligence in the English classroom. A bibliography is included. (DF)

Describes a letter-writing and video exchange project carried on between two English classrooms, one in New York and one in Georgia. Outlines methods used to connect the classes, including dealing with issues of racial and ethnic differences. Claims that such methods validate students and build self-esteem. (HB)

Describes how four teachers from different subjects in a New York high school developed an interdisciplinary curriculum unit on Sub-Saharan Africa that integrated English, Studio in Art, and Global Studies for ninth graders. Shows how the unit helped students see connections between subjects. (HB)

Argues that William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is the play that is best suited for the high school English curriculum of the 1990s. Discusses historical and critical aspects the play's key themes. Shows ways of using the play in high school classes, and describes 19 works to read alongside of"The Tempest." (HB)

Suggests four exercises to undertake prior to the actual reading and study of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" in high school English classes. (HB)

Describes the realities of current state of the teaching of William Shakespeare in U.S. schools. Compares these realities with the philosophy of teaching of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. Shows how the Folger Library's education program resonates with their proclaimed philosophy. (HB)

Describes an approach to teaching William Shakespeare by which one teacher had students take the plays from the page to the stage by becoming actors and directors as well as scholars. Shows ways of relating various plays to more contemporary works. (HB)

Describes how one teacher developed an approach to teaching the plays of William Shakespeare that included both attending performances of plays and then producing individual scenes through student participation. Outlines other related activities of the unit, including holding an Elizabethan marketplace. (HB)

Shows how one teacher used innovative methods in teaching William Shakespeare's "Macbeth." Outlines student assignments including text renderings, rewriting a scene from the play, and creating a multicultural scrapbook for the play. (HB)

Argues that William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part I" is an appropriate and useful text for secondary English classrooms. Shows how the play lends itself to performance-based instruction. Outlines ways of accomplishing student engagement, using film versions, and assigning written work. (HB)