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Daily text messaging among American teens has shot up in the past 18 months, from 38% of teens texting friends daily in February of 2008 to 54% of teens texting daily in September 2009. And it's not just frequency--teens are sending enormous quantities of text messages a day. Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month. Older teen girls ages 14-17 lead the charge on text messaging, averaging 100 messages a day for the entire cohort. The youngest teen boys are the most resistant to texting--averaging 20 messages per day. Text messaging has become the primary way that teens reach their friends, surpassing face-to-face contact, email, instant messaging and voice calling as the go-to daily communication tool for this age group. However, voice calling is still the preferred mode for reaching parents for most teens. This study is based on the 2009 Parent-Teen Cell Phone Survey which obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 800 teens age 12-to-17 years-old and their parents living in the continental United States and on 9 focus groups conducted in 4 U.S. cities in June and October 2009 with teens between the ages of 12 and 18. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The interviews were done in English by Princeton Data Source, LLC from June 26 to September 24, 2009. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. (Contains 2 tables and 57 footnotes.) [This project was undertaken in collaboration with researchers in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.]

Since 2006, blogging has dropped among teens and young adults while simultaneously rising among older adults. As the tools and technology embedded in social networking sites change, and use of the sites continues to grow, youth may be exchanging "macro blogging" for microblogging with status updates. Blogging has declined in popularity among both teens and young adults since 2006. Blog commenting has also dropped among teens. This report brings together recent findings about internet and social media use among young adults by situating it within comparable data for adolescents and adults older than 30. All the most current data on teens is drawn from a survey the authors conducted between June 26 and September 24, 2009 of 800 adolescents between ages 12 and 17. Most of the adult data are drawn from a survey they conducted between August 18 and September 14, 2009 of 2,253 adults (age 18 and over). (Contains 2 tables and 13 footnotes.)

Video games provide a diverse set of experiences and related activities and are part of the lives of almost all teens in America. To date, most video game research has focused on how games impact academic and social outcomes (particularly aggression). There has also been some exploration of the relationship between games and civic outcomes, but as of yet there has been no large-scale quantitative research. This survey provides the first nationally representative study of teen video game play and of teen video gaming and civic engagement. The survey looks at which teens are playing games, the games and equipment they are using, the social context of their play, and the role of parents and parental monitoring. Though arguments have been made about the civic potential of video gaming, this is the first large-scale study to examine the relationship between specific gaming experiences and teens' civic activities and commitments. Appended are: (1) Video Game and Console History Chart; and (2) Regression Analysis. (Contains 8 tables and 63 footnotes.)

Discusses four poems by William Carlos Williams used to teach creative writing to college students. Uses "Portrait of a Woman in Red" and "The Last Words of My English Grandmother" because they contain speakers who are clearly not the poet, which gives undergraduate students opportunities to discuss details Williams uses to portray his characters. (PA)

Offers advice on providing a successful leadership development program at community colleges: decide on the philosophy of leadership, develop a mission statement, identify resources, start small and do those things well, approach student organizations, and provide food. (EV)

This manual is one of four self-contained components of a larger handbook designed to assist secondary and postsecondary instructors and support staff in meeting the needs of limited-English-proficiency (LEP) students in vocational training programs. Together with an accompanying set of vocational English as a second language (VESL) vocabulary cards, the guide not only provides essential technical vocabulary in automotive mechanics needed by the LEP vocational student to participate more confidently and successfully in training and on the job, but also suggests practical activities for using the vocabulary in a variety of settings. Chapters address these topics: the elements of memory, meaning, and motivation in vocabulary development; using the vocabulary flash cards; auto mechanics terminology; safety; and job skills. An auto mechanics vocabulary list, a resource list of additional teaching strategies for vocabulary development, an annotated bibliography, the VESL flash cards (printed five to a sheet), and several illustrations to go with the cards are appended. (MSE)

This manual is one of four self-contained components of a larger handbook designed to assist secondary and postsecondary instructors and support staff in meeting the needs of limited-English-proficiency (LEP) students in vocational training programs. Together with an accompanying set of vocational English as a second language (VESL) vocabulary cards, the guide not only provides essential technical vocabulary in nursing assistance needed by the LEP vocational student to participate more confidently and successfully in training and on the job, but also suggests practical activities for using the vocabulary in a variety of settings. Chapters address these topics: the elements of memory, meaning, and motivation in vocabulary development; using the vocabulary flash cards; nursing assistant terminology; nursing abbreviations; safety; job skills; and additional activities. A nursing assistant vocabulary list, a resource list of additional teacher strategies for vocabulary development, an annotated bibliography, the VESL flash cards (printed five to a sheet), and several illustrations to go with the cards are appended. (MSE)

This manual is one of four self-contained components of a larger handbook designed to assist secondary and postsecondary instructors and support staff in meeting the needs of limited-English-proficiency (LEP) students in vocational training programs. Together with an accompanying set of vocational English as a second language (VESL) vocabulary cards, the guide not only provides essential technical food service vocabulary needed by the LEP vocational student to participate more confidently and successfully in training and on the job, but also suggests practical activities for using the vocabulary in a variety of settings. Chapters address the following topics: the elements of memory, meaning, and motivation in vocabulary development; using the vocabulary cards; food service terminology; tools and equipment; weights and measures; safety; and food service occupations. A food service vocabulary list, a resource list of additional teaching strategies for vocabulary development, an annotated bibliography, the VESL flash cards (printed five to a sheet), and several illustrations to go with the cards are appended. (MSE)

This manual is one of four self-contained components of a larger handbook designed to assist secondary and postsecondary instructors and support staff in meeting the needs of limited-English-proficiency (LEP) students in vocational training programs. Together with an accompanying set of vocational English as a second language (VESL) vocabulary cards, the guide not only provides essential technical vocabulary in computer literacy needed by the LEP vocational student to participate more confidently and successfully in training and on the job, but also suggests practical activities for using the vocabulary in a variety of settings. Chapters address the following topics: the elements of memory, meaning, and motivation in vocabulary development; using the vocabulary cards; the parts and functions of a computer; computer abbreviations; floppy disks; vocabulary exercises; programming languages; flowcharts; and employability skills. Additional exercises, a computer literacy vocabulary list, a resource list of additional teaching strategies for vocabulary development, and an annotated bibliography are appended. The VESL cards are printed on separate sheets at the back of the manual together with two pages of illustrations to go with the cards. (MSE)