Presents a list of 24 selections of poems, short stories, nonfiction, and picture books of high reader appeal and literary quality. Offers annotations of some selections. (RS)

Reviews 15 books about teaching, school, or English education published in the 1980s that had a profound influence on teachers and teaching. Notes that these books focus on writing and writing instruction. (RS)

Reviews Dover Publications' new series of literary classics published as inexpensive paperback editions. Finds the books able to withstand physical abuse. Recommends selecting the volumes that comfortably fit the curriculum and enlarge the choices within the department. (RS)

Offers a pedagogy that invites students to know firsthand how traditional poetic forms are both historic artifacts and living practices. (RS)

Surveys National Council of Teachers of English Centers of Excellence to learn how good English curricula develop. Discusses the Center of Excellence's origins and development, curriculum approval process, implementation, evaluation and assessment, funding, and obstacles. Concludes that the Centers of Excellence offer a highly professional,…

Discusses three approaches to help teachers of alienated students ward off despair: (1) separating soluble from insoluble problems; (2) finding curriculum content that is interesting and involving to teachers and students; and (3) acknowledging within themselves some of the feelings and behaviors teachers find so appalling in their most difficult…

Describes a teaching approach successful with 1960s at-risk students, in which literature was carefully selected for readability, interest, brevity, and literary quality. Notes that all activities were literature-based and that discussion was short and text focused. Explains that each lesson was a miniature language arts curriculum and that…

Maintains that free reading and film study constitute a powerful arsenal against the barriers reluctant student learners erect. Describes the successful use of both techniques with a class of seniors who had all failed junior English. (SR)

Describes the workable strategies a student teacher found to deal with student apathy and disinterest. Discusses the use of script writing; balancing "old" literature with writing hot off the presses; using writing about real subjects which captivate student interest to work on writing arguments; and exploring cultural incongruities through…

Describes an experimental, team-taught, low level ninth grade English class which emphasized writing. Discusses students, their writing, the use of journal writing, ability grouping, and what the classroom environment was like. Notes that students improved in all their other classes during the semester they spent in this class. (SR)

Describes a six-week project in a high school American literature class on Studs Terkel's book "Working" (which explores the work lives of a cross-section of Americans). Describes how students wrote about personal work futures, wove together dramatic scenes from their favorite parts of the book, and carried out their own extended interviews. (SR)

Presents an approach used in high school English classes to connect students with the world outside high school. Encourages students to take risks by selecting a project topic, choosing and inviting a guest speaker, preparing for the visit, reading and writing on related topics, and doing a follow-up project. (SR)

Describes the interdisciplinary approach used by a language arts teacher and a social studies teacher to teach seventh graders about the Great Depression. Discusses how students prepare interviews, radio plays, and newsreels. (SR)

Describes the collaboration between two teachers, involving six eighth grade and two ninth grade English classes, to present a unit reflecting the needs, hopes, and potential of the handicapped. Explains how volunteerism was incorporated into the classroom. Describes preparation, traveling to the Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament, class…

Offers eight short accounts from teachers of ways they are using collaborative or cooperative learning in their classrooms. (SR)