In Other Words

Clear thinking is at the heart of good communication. In Other Words blends language arts skills with problem-solving techniques to help students prepare effective written and spoken messages, listen attentively and present their thoughts clearly, organize their ideas, and evaluate their work.

Divided into four process clusters, the programs show how language arts skills taught in the seventh and eighth grades are useful for the communication tasks that students encounter everyday in and out of school.

After a humorous vignette introduces a communication skill, a seventh- or eighth-grader fails to use the skill to deal with a communication problem. Another student uses it correctly. In a nondramatic segment, an adult who uses the skill in his or her professional life talks about the skill's importance and demonstrates its use. Finally, the young person who had difficulties earlier applies the skill successfully.