With the goal of supporting students' writing and content area learning using play as a pedagogical model, teachers' action research projects involved kindergarten and grade 1 students collaborating to create texts for a range of purposes. The authors analyzed the project activities for their starting points or motivators, student and teacher…

Drawing from a qualitative case study that examined the language practices and learning in a first grade bilingual classroom, the author discusses one teacher's daily process for the literacy event of the morning message. Primary findings indicate that the ways the teacher listened and responded to students during the morning message provided…

There are approximately 1.5 million children in the United States who go to sleep each night without a home of their own (National Center on Family Homelessness, 2009). In this article, we provide insights into how educators can create greater classroom support, particularly in literacy learning and development, for this population. Drawing from…

This article describes how fifth-grade students created collaborative online learning communities while discussing and responding to literature on an asynchronous message board. At their own initiative, students constructed and posted various types of literature response prompts, which elicited rich responses from their peers. Types of identified…

Notes that with computers and technicians in the schools, with public demand for teaching students to use computers effectively, and with the information that students can now access on the Internet, the roles of both teachers and students have changed drastically. Focuses on some specific software that may assist teachers in guiding students on…

Argues that putting children in the questioning role in a discussion leads them to higher levels of thinking. Describes several methods designed to stimulate question creation. (FL)

Describes a study of reading and writing instruction at the elementary level and explains how teachers learned new ways to support each other, how the teachers' role changed as they encouraged their students' diverse interests, and how the teacher/learner roles changed. (HOD)