Reviews recent research suggesting that teachers may unintentionally perpetuate social class stratification during reading instruction. Explores possible solutions to the unequal treatment of social classes during reading instruction. (HTH)

Many specific implications for classroom reading instruction can be derived from work in linguistics or psycholinguistics. (JH)

Contains representative selections from issues of "Elementary English," a precursor to "Language Arts," from its fifth decade of publication. Includes articles, editorials, and ads reflecting contemporary concerns of English education still relevant today, such as literacy, the increasing interrelationship between politics and…

Examines four important outcomes of reading instruction--to enjoy and appreciate reading, to understand reading's communication function, to find information, and to develop word recognition and comprehension strategies--and illustrates how direct instruction varies qualitatively from outcome to outcome. (RL)

Cites ERIC materials describing how music in the classroom can help improve reading readiness, recall, and creative writing. (HTH)

Considers the possibilities of critical literacy curricula in elementary classrooms. Discusses the development of children's texts; underlying principles of critical literacy; suggested starting points for developing critical literacy in the classroom; and the implications for reading and assessment of emotionally charged texts. Argues for…

Describes a teacher's experiences in a multigrade intermediate grade mountain schoolhouse. Notes that teaching difficulties were overcome by (1) organizing time and contracting with students; (2) learning from students about what to teach; and (3) using language that invites and includes students. Explains how these techniques aid reading and…

Discusses changes in textbook publishing, attendance at professional meetings, media coverage, and the response of the "testing community" that demonstrate that whole language has become the agenda of education. Discusses the transactional view of writing, social/personal views of learning, teachers redefining themselves and their relations to…

Interviews Lisa Delpit from the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University. Argues that many nonmainstream children need explicit instruction in literacy conventions and strategies to gain access to the culture of power. (MG)

Describes the modification in one kindergarten class of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) to Sustained Loud Reading (SLR). Describes children's excited interactions with and sharing of books. (SR)

Offers guidelines for using literature in the primary classroom. Shares the experiences of first graders with the book "Owl Moon." Notes that it is important to retain the essence of the story--to demonstrate for young readers how readers connect with books. (MG)

Reviews 13 professional materials that explore the uses of expository texts and informational materials designed to be used with elementary and middle school students in the classroom. Discusses a book that provides a whole-language perspective on language learning and teaching. (MG)

Describes how the authors collaborated on a teacher research project in three elementary school classrooms (first, second, and third grade) as a means of documenting teaching and learning in "Wholistic" classrooms. Offers a skill sketch of the data collected in each classroom, documenting exactly which skills were receiving attention and practice…

Discusses how writing and reading came together in response journals for first graders, motivating a variety of reactions to literature and showing that even young children have a range of responses to literature that they can express through writing. (SR)