English Update. March 24, 2007. Archive

Archive
Reading…. Teaching….. Do teachers’ expectations for students influence the results? The effect of expectations on the achievement of young boys learning to read: When teachers expected boys to be successful in reading, they were; when teachers did not expect boys to be successful, they were not. Do expectations affect the results? Palardy. EE (Apr. 71), 271.

Reading….. Texts….. What should textbooks include after every chapter? Textbooks should include at the end of each chapter proposed extension activities in which the students use or extend the ideas contained in the chapter. [Reaction: Might be better than the questions that usually conclude each chapter. Give students something to do with the ideas. Example: After a chapter on the major uses of the comma, ask students to take a magazine, any magazine, and see on a given page how many sentences contain commas after introductory expressions, around interrupters, and before afterthoughts.]

Speaking….. Shakespeare….. How introduce Shakespeare? Students select from among some of Shakespeare’s most famous groups of lines and then memorize and present them in a chorus. Good way to introduce students to Shakespeare. Setting can be contemporary. R Laughlin. CN+ (Apr. 05), 11-13.

Speaking….. Assignment….. How help students learn to interview? Students interview others on a topic, then turn them into monologues. A Frkovich & A Thoms. EJ (Nov. 04), 76.

Speaking….. Discussion….. How improve classroom discussion? Rules for classroom discussion, the acronym, “TRAFFIC”: Turn and look at the people you are speaking to; Repeat what has just been said to show that you understand; Answer to the best of your ability; Function; Face to face when you are speaking directly to one person; Include evidence for your answer; Conclude or summarize. D DiMarco. TETYC (May 05), 403-405.

Speaking….. Discussion….. How help students improve their questions? Students analyze the questions they ask—what type of questions are they? Suggested by R Fischbaugh. RT (Nov. 04), 296-299.

Speaking….. Interview….. How improve students’ interviewing skills? If your subject is biased, don’t begin to argue. Take it all in. Your purpose is to gather information, not to win debate points. J Brady. Wrt (Nov. 04), 31. Write out key questions in advance. Cluster questions. Use non-questions like, “Tell me about….” Hypothetical questions can elicit surprising answers. J Brady. Wrt (Nov. 04), 28-31.

Speaking….. Storytelling….. Why tell stories instead of reading them? Telling folk tales (rather than reading them) enriches and entertains in an unforgettable way. CM Kirkton. “Once Upon a Time… Folk Tales and Storytelling.” 1025.

Speaking….. Storytelling….. How prepare for story telling? “Ruth Sawyer (The Way of the Storyteller, Viking Press, 1965) suggests that would-be storytellers begin by learning their story incident by incident or picture by picture—never word by word. Work by the instinctive method of seeing your story first, of making it live for you to the point that you can make it live for others.” CM Kirkton. “Once Upon a Time… Folk Tales and Storytelling.” 1026.

Speaking….. Storytelling….. Where find stories for story telling? Tell stories based on chapters in children’s, YA and Adult books. M Garthwaite. EE. 600-603.

EE = Elementary English. Wrt = The Writer. RT = Reading Teacher. TETYC = Teaching English in Two-Year Colleges. EJ = English Journal. CN+ = Classroom Notes Plus.