Two hundred and four 5- and 6-year-olds who were monolingual English-, bilingual English-Chinese-, or Chinese-speaking children beginning to learn English (2nd-language learners) were compared on phonological awareness and word decoding tasks in English and Chinese. Phonological awareness developed in response to language exposure and instruction…

This report is an evaluation of a selected New York City Umbrella Program, funded under a special grant from the New York State Legislature. The program, which operated in three East Harlem schools, served eighty disadvantaged monolingual and bilingual children in the third through sixth grades who were two years or more below grade level in…

Investigators wrote proposals for research on the nature and learning of communicative processes in the elementary classroom. Three questions were addressed: (1) What is the nature of communication in the classroom? (2) How do students acquire the rules of classroom discourse? (3) What is the effect of inadequate learning of classroom discourse…

Presents the personal narrative of a Mexican immigrant mother who reports her dilemma and frustration when attempting to assist in her child's classroom. Highlights the obstacles mothers face when they seek to become actively involved in their children's classrooms, and challenges educators to seriously consider what is meant by parent…

Describes a program model tested at two Boston high schools designed to better prepare monolingual teachers to meet the needs of their linguistic minority students. Program consisted of needs assessment, workshops, conferences, and classroom projects. Recommendations for future projects include administrator, counselor, and bilingual staff…

The results of a letter exchange project involving bilingual and English-as-a-Second Language students in grades one through nine are reported. Classroom activities that can be generated from letter writing are described. These activities relate to language arts, social studies, math, science, art, music, cooking, and dramatics. (LB)

Based on the author's experience teaching in a multicultural classroom in England, this paper suggests that children's home languages are valuable not only in terms of linguistic and cognitive increment but also as part of a broad provision of multicultural and antiracist education. (10 references) (Author/LB)

Looks at how a short story by three students in a bilingual third-grade classroom came to be. Examines the literate practices already established in the classroom; the classroom norm of using two languages; learning to include information from multiple sources; and learning that interaction is a valuable part of the writing process. (SR)

Analyzes why ethnic minority groups, such as Asians, are achieving marginal academic success. Analysis of the management, pedagogic, curriculum, resource, and community issues indicates what political guidance might be effective to help improve academic achievement. (GR)

Examines effects of immigration on schools; the labor market; and education, earnings, and the economy within the United States. Reveals the huge influx of limited English-speaking students in many U.S. schools, a need for more bilingual teachers and counselors, a widening difference between states based on job skills and economic competitiveness,…

Contrasts a bilingual Austrian school, which has German-speaking and English-speaking students and German and English as equal languages of instruction, with an independent school in the United Kingdom where German is taught intensively to students of all age groups. Focuses on the status of foreign languages, teacher recruitment, teaching…

Learning science in a meaningful way involves more than doing a series of activities directed towards anticipated outcomes. Learning science entails teacher and children talking together as "co-constructors" of knowledge (Barnes, 1976). Karen Gallas (1995) has described her long-term observations of the kinds of talk which contribute to…

Many immigrant children encounter many difficulties and challenges in the public school. As a result, countless bilingual and limited-English-proficient students are lagging behind their peers. Minority students are labeled and treated differently from their classmates. Although equally capable, they are receiving a second-class education. The…

This book introduces the issues involved in the education of bilingual students and the role that classroom assessment plays in their school experiences. After summarizing what research tells educators, the book provides case studies of a group of highly skilled teachers assessing bilingual children. These stories capture the intricacies of…

A program to identify culturally-diverse adolescents with the potential of becoming gifted adults is described, and instructions for conducting theater activities are presented. "Talent Search and Development Model Project" of the New Haven Connecticut School System involves middle schools serving primarily Black and Hispanic (bilingual)…