McDougall found learning about Stephen and Matilda fascinating, was sure that her pupils would also and designed an enquiry to engage them in "the anarchy" of 1139-1153 AD. Pupils enjoyed exploring "the anarchy" and learning about it enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the medieval period considerably. However,…

In this high-accountability era--one in which there is an expanding movement to condemn teachers for the failures of their schools--teachers teach students who believe writing is primarily an act of complying to a prompt, likely for a state accountability assessment or the troubling 25-minute essay that constitutes less than half of the writing…

When the teaching of strategies for understanding literature crowds out a close reading of literary works themselves, something is amiss in language arts instruction, and students lose out. This has become the case in too many elementary and even secondary classrooms today, Senechal believes. Using a strategy-based lesson proposed by Stephanie…

Examines current educational thinking about the development of children's writing, story structure and its functional components, and economy in writing. Strategies that teachers and teacher librarians can use to improve students' work are suggested, and an annotated bibliography of seven childrens' stories is provided. (eight references) (EA)

Discusses the incorporation of content-based instruction in the English department of one school. As a result, verbal interaction was increased. With this success, the use of narratives was implemented in a whole-language project, with an emphasis on discourse analysis, specifically story grammar. (Author/VWL)

Argues that it is possible for stories to both entertain the reader and teach reading techniques. Suggests that the apprentice approach to reading instruction, using good stories and with judicious intervention by teachers, can be rigorous. (MG)

Reviews research on the effectiveness of story grammar in promoting the comprehension of narrative text in students with learning disabilities and at-risk students. Offers instructional recommendations for successful implementation of this strategy. (RS)

This paper offers a description of the Ball-Stick-Bird reading system which has been used successfully to teach students with IQs as low as 20 to read with comprehension. A summary of research findings on this approach is presented as well as a discussion of these findings within a neurological/behavioral/evolutionary framework. A new theory of…

Discusses the use of story frames as a strategy for teaching reading comprehension to first grade students, and includes examples of student responses. (JC)

Describes and provides examples of how storytelling can help develop children's language ability. Argues that the goal is not to teach children language but to create an environment that will allow language learning to occur naturally. (SRT)

To encourage children's creative writing in a classroom setting, student teachers used two types of children's books as models: (1) a traditionally structured picture book in which the story maintains strong development of plot, setting, and characters as in "Peter Rabbit"; and (2) a predictable pattern book that develops a repetitive pattern as…