Encourages language arts teachers to give students more opportunities to write in order to develop both their reading and their writing skills. (DD)

Jeanne S. Chall, Roger Farr, John C. Manning, Robert B. Ruddell, Russell G. Stauffer, Dorothy S. Strickland, and Richard L. Venezky comment on significant developments in reading during the 1970s, hopes for the 1980s, and important references dealing with teaching children to read. (DD)

Because both whole language and traditional skill-based instruction have strengths, educators should use a combined approach that includes direct instruction in phonics and reading comprehension skills along with whole language instruction. (Author/TE)

In many classrooms across North America, teachers face the challenge of how to help the growing number of children who are not native English speakers. This article describes several strategies teachers can use for approaching beginning reading of English with second-language learners. These include: (1) A comprehension-centered curriculum; (2) A…

The advent of the No Child Left Behind legislation has produced mandates that focus heavily on reading skills. Writing has a secondary role, while speaking and listening skills are almost insignificant in terms of instructional time. NCLB mandates have translated into block scheduling for reading in many schools. This can be very useful when the…

Defines and explains the elements of the English curriculum (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and shows how, as integrated, they become the basis for the middle school or junior high English curriculum. (Author/JM)

Describes what publishers can do to improve textbooks and teaching, and what teachers can do with inadequate textbooks to repair the "faulty" state of language education. Lists nine "knowns" about language education and explains how textbooks can exploit that knowledge within existing constraints. (RS)

Discusses the role of decoding in the framework of reading research and current instructional issues. Emphasizes the importance of decoding as part of the reading and language arts curriculum. Provides instructional implications. Suggests that, although many children learn to read without difficulty using literature-based approaches, many children…

Compares the difficulties students face in the junior high years to the obstacles of Odysseus. Notes hierarchical skill levels needed to understand and interpret literature; suggests using different print and nonprint media to improve interest in stories; recommends doing more writing and talking about fewer works. (JG)

Discusses the literacy problems caused by teaching reading and writing separately and by teaching in isolation the skills required in these two processes. (HTH)

The comprehensive approach to balanced literacy mandate relies on teachers understanding of the skills and strategies that reading and writing demands. State and city departments of education must look for ways to learn from the voices of English language art teachers.

This book is intended for all educators who work with reading and writing skills. The book combines Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences and recent brain research on reading and writing with historical, anthropological, biographical, and psychological perspectives on literacy. It pulls the research together to show how teachers can engage…

The goals outlined in the California Language Arts Framework (1987) include a call for Language Arts instruction that promotes a love of reading through a sense of personal fulfillment, a sense of effectiveness through which students acquire a range of lifelong learning strategies that foster full participation in the world of work and the access…

Reading, writing, and computing, which are interrelated and can thrive on each other for literacy and intellectual growth, are in the process of becoming linked in instructional practice. As reading and writing become more demanding, their task is eased with computer use. The computer seems to provide the connection between composing,…

Noting that recent changes in philosophy and classroom practices in teaching reading and writing have had a major impact on language arts instruction and have caused concern among some parents and teachers, this position paper urges a balanced approach that meets the needs of the children as well as the concerns of the community. An overview of a…