Summarizes a student-conducted telephone survey involving 200 interviews on the topic of dating. Describes the process of organizing and carrying out the survey. Notes that the project was exciting and beneficial for both students and professionals involved. (HB)

Describes a senior-year requirement of a high school in Oregon consisting of a prescribed research paper. Demonstrates the benefits of this requirement among those in college writing courses. Argues that freeing students to choose a topic may be the key. (HB)

Presents the responses of nine English teachers to the question "Who has been the most positive influence on you as an English teacher, and how does your teaching reflect that influence?" (HB)

Recommends and summarizes 13 nonfiction and historical-fiction books (published in 1991 or 1992) which enable young adults to explore issues relevant to their own lives. (HB)

Recommends and summarizes 11 lesser-known works of children's literature which various teachers have found useful in the junior and senior high classroom. (HB)

Describes and recommends a book about the relationship of an at-risk student with his teacher in a learning-disabled (LD) clinic. Relates the painful experiences of this student and notes that the book offers suggestions and guidelines for LD educators. (HB)

Presents research on using small groups to help students think and reason about literature. Examines various small-group activities in ninth grade English classrooms. Analyzes effective and ineffective small-group work. Concludes that effective small-group work requires coherent activities that result in the sustained production of student…

Examines taped small-group student discussions of "To Kill a Mockingbird" in two tenth grade classes. Explores various discussion skills, including getting started, overcoming tension, deciding who begins, keeping the discussion moving, supporting one another in groups, and dealing with conflict. (MM)

Explores the importance of students' extemporaneous talk about student writing, literature, and personal experiences in various group contexts. Asserts that developing a student's mind is the English teacher's primary goal. Describes how teachers can achieve this by taking a less prominent role in managing class discussion as students gain…

Describes an eighth grade teacher's efforts to integrate talk and writing, questioning and discussion, and learning as a shared responsibility between students and teacher. Outlines several projects related to the theme of work that achieved these goals, including interviews with parents and community members, journal entries projecting into the…

Describes an open-discussion format for an eighth grade literature class in which students engage in higher order inquiry and clarification skills which then transfer to their reading and writing tasks. Provides rules for open discussion: be courteous; tolerate silence; and self-evaluate. Includes a sample discussion cue sheet. (MM)

Describes a year-long project for seventh graders that incorporates all aspects of language arts. Relates how the project culminates in a videotaped dramatic production of student writing. (MM)

Describes two lessons in communication skills that help students overcome shyness and develop friendships by learning to keep a conversation going and by drawing others into the conversation through self-disclosure. (MM)

Examines the nature of personal, idiosyncratic interpretations and responses to reading assignments. Suggests how teachers can help students understand the differences between their interpretations and the authors' intended messages. Provides three strategies--anticipation guides, mapping, and role playing--to help students synthesize their…

Warns that students may misread or misunderstand texts during an individual reading activity. Urges teachers to pay close attention to how readers actually move into a story. (MM)