Annotated Table of Contents: Computers, Writing Instruction and the Future.

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 12. Computers, Writing Instruction and the Future: How will the computer change writing instruction in the future? I can foresee some changes in the writing program as the result of computer technology, but no essential changes in the nature of the writing process so long as words are the medium of expression. Of course, students can now add pictures to their compositions and even turn them into multi-media presentations with sound and film. Although pictures, sound and film will be fun for the writer and maybe even helpful to the reader in fully grasping the writer's message, they do not replace the need to create unified and coherent text, the difficult, essential skills of writing.

Annotated Table of Contents: The Computer and Writing Instruction

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 11: The Computer and Writing Instruction. What problems did word processing help to solve in teaching writing? Computers and word processing changed the attitudes of students toward writing, a change that was the most significant I have seen in teaching English in the last thirty-five years. However, any change raises issues and I encountered a number of issues when I introduced word processing to teachers and students in the early 1980s. The most popular computers at that time were Radio Shack, Apple, IBM and Commodore.

Annotated Table of Contents: Timed Writing Assessments

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 10: Helping Students Prepare for Writing Assessments. How can teachers prepare students for writing 25-minute impromptu essays? Real writers let ideas incubate, write drafts and revise and revise and revise. But state writing assessments and now, the SAT requirement for a 25-minute writing sample, require practically spontaneous writing on assigned topics. Students are given little time to plan their writing and almost no time to revise. I will suggest methods for preparing students to "write it right" the first time.

Annotated Table of Contents: Grammar and Composition

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 9: Grammar and Composition. Why teach grammar? In my experience,the problem with teaching grammar has always been lack of clear purpose. As a result, students may be taught grammar, but they soon forget what they have learned because they do not apply it. In this chapter, I will discuss the purposes for teaching grammar in English, and I will explain how a knowledge of grammar can help students to polish their written expression.

Annotated Table of Contents: Writing and Speaking

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 8. Teaching formal writing: How can teachers use models and modeling to teach writing? In this chapter, I will explain how I taught students to write with confidence.

Annotated Table of Contents: Modeling.

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Two: Assignments

Chapter 7: Modeling, an Effective Method for Teaching

Preparing students for reading. Starting homework in class. Correcting ten-minute essays. Isn't the teacher doing the work for the students? No. The teacher is modeling for the students how to read, how to do homework and how to revise and edit.

Annotated Table of Contents: Homework.

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Two: Assignments

Chapter 6: Homework. What is the most effective method for assigning homework? The class period winds down. Typically, as students begin to gather up their books, papers, and other belongings to leave the classroom, the teacher calls out the assignment for homework, almost as an afterthought: "Read chapter 38." Or, "Write a paper on a topic of your choice." Or, "We'll discuss Chapter 5 of The Great Gatsby tomorrow. Be sure to read it." Homework assignments need to be given with care. Students need to be prepared for them, especially long-term assignments, and students should be asked to evaluate them."

Annotated Table of Contents: Reading Assignments

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part Two: Assignments

Chapter 5: Reading: What method helps students read difficult assignments successfully and turns passive readers into active readers? How many times have you heard your teachers in school give a reading assignment something like this: "Open your books to page 35 and begin to read? In this chapter, I suggest a better way to prepare students for what they are going to reead.

Annotated Table of Contents: Professional Research Adapted.

Teaching English, How To..... by Raymond Stopper

Part One: Teaching English

Chapter 4: Professional Research Adapted: How can ten minutes a day contribute to writing confidence? The story of how I applied research to a problem in the teaching of writing begins with a girl I am going to call Mary, a student in tenth-grade English. She soon distanced herself from the rest of the students in her ability to write. Her improvement was startling. She was the best writer with whom I had ever worked. One day, I asked Mary about the secret of her success. I knew that my teaching was not the reason because I also taught the other students, and none had progressed as well as Mary. She told me....

Annotated Table of Contents: Professional Research

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part One: Teaching English

Chapter 3: Professional Research: How can teachers use professional research? The value of professional research depends on what readers want to do with it. If they want definite answers to their questions about teaching, I'm afraid professional research in education won't help much. In my experience, most educational research is essentially inconclusive, with findings expressed as "indicates" and "suggests." Therefore, educational research used as a political device to support certain points of view must be read critically. However, if teachers are looking for ideas that help to answer questions about teaching, published research is a treasure trove. And conducting research in the classroom can help to answer questions about the effectiveness of teaching methods.

Annotated Table of Contents: Active Learning.

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part One: Teaching English

Chapter 2: Active Learning: How can teachers motivate students to learn? Of course, active learning is the goal. Dewey is quoted as saying, "We learn what we do." I guess, because education is mandatory in the United States, motivating students is part of the teacher's role. In this chapter, I suggest a fundamental method for motivating students to want to learn.

Annotated Table of Contents: Goals

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Part One: Teaching English

Chapter 1: Goals. Why teach English? Somewhere I read that the goals of a college education are to learn how to learn, to learn how to think, to learn how to communicate, and to learn how to solve problems. I believe that that statement is a concise summary of what we try to accomplish when we teach English. Add to those goals: to read, respond to, discuss and criticize literary works and you have what teaching English is all about. In this chapter I give examples of how to help students achieve each of these goals.

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Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Table of Contents

Part Seven: Supervision

Chapter 27: Supervision Lesson #1: Listen
Why is listening important to successful leadership?.......... p. 476.

Chapter 28: Supervision Lesson #2: Inservice
How can teacher inservice programs be improved? .......... p. 482.

Chapter 29: Supervision Lesson #3: Change
What is needed for successful change in education? .......... p. 491.

Chapter 30: Supervision Lesson #4: Authority
Does leadership without authority work? .......... p. 507.

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Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Table of Contents

Part Six: Language and Vocabulary

Chapter 25: Exploring Language
How can teachers have some fun with language in English class? .......... p. 445.

Chapter 26: Building Word Knowledge
What should a complete vocabulary program consist of?.......... p. 451.

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Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper


Table of Contents


Part Five: Literature


Chapter 21: Reading Aloud
Why is reading aloud to students of all ages important?.......... p. 369.


Chapter 22: Reading, Teaching and Studying Literature
What is the purpose of reading and studying literature in school? .......... p. 376.


Chapter 23: Organizing a Discussion of Literature
How can teachers organize literary discussions in which most of the students participate? .......... p. 420.


Chapter 24: Censorship
How can English teachers prepare for possible censorship challenges? .......... p. 431.

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Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Table of contents

Part Four: Reading

Chapter 17: Speed Reading
Is speed reading a myth?.......... p. 311.

Chapter 18: Reading Efficiency
How can students find information quickly? .......... p. 322.

Chapter 19: Reading in the Content Areas
How can teachers of subjects other than English help their students read assignments successfully? .......... p. 341.

Chapter 20: The first Grade-Secondary English Connection
What should secondary English teachers know about beginning reading and writing instruction? .......... p. 355.

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Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

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Part Three: Writing and Speaking

Chapter 8: Teaching Formal Writing
How can teachers use models and modeling to teach writing? ..........p. 103.

Chapter 9: Grammar and Composition
Why teach grammar?.......... p. 166.

Chapter 10: Helping Students Prepare for Timed Writing Assessments
How can teachers prepare students for writing 25-minute impromptu essays? .......... p. 208.

Chapter 11: The Computer and Writing Instruction
What problems did word processing help to solve in teaching writing?......... p. 239.

Chapter 12: Computers, Writing Instruction and the Future
How will the computer change writing instruction in the future?.......... p. 248.

Chapter 13: Writing Across the Curriculum, Writing in the Content Areas, Writing to Learn
How can English teachers and teachers of other subjects work together in teaching writing? .......... p. 255.

Chapter 14: Professional Writing
What can teachers of writing learn from trying to publish professionally? .......... p. 267.

Chapter 15: Spelling--the Dreadful Ordeal
In the age of computers, is spelling still a worthwhile subject in the English curriculum? .......... p. 281.

Chapter 16: Speaking
How can teachers help students overcome their fear of speaking in public? .......... p. 297.

TEHT.... Table of Contents (2)

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

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Part Two: Assignments

Chapter 5. Organizing Assignments: Reading.
What method helps students read difficult assignments successfully and turns passive readers into active readers? .......... p. 82

Chapter 6. Organizing Assignments: Homework.
What is the most effective method for assigning homework? .......... p. 89.

Chapter 7. Modeling: Reading, Homework and Ten-Minute Writings.
Aren't Directed Reading Assignments, preparation for homework assignments in class and 10-minute writings simply doing the work for the students? .......... p. 95.

TEHT... Table of Contents (1)

Teaching English, How To.... by Raymond Stopper

Table of Contents

Part One: Teaching English: Goals, Active Learning, Professional Research, Professional Research Adapted

Chapter 1: Goals. Why teach English?..........p. 37.

Chapter 2: Active Learning. How Can Teachers Motivate Students to Learn?.......... p. 48.

Chapter 3: Professional Research. How Can Teachers Use Professional Research?.......... p. 59.

Chapter 4: Professional Research Adapted. How Can Ten Minutes a Day Contribute to Writing Confidence? .......... p. 70.