Argues that, especially in the intermediate grades, keying into students' personal interests is a powerful motivator for learning. Illustrates this with the story of a formerly excellent student who became disillusioned with school in fifth grade, becoming resistant and disruptive. Describes how a project approach to reading and writing that…

Children arrive in classrooms with varied background knowledge, which means that teachers must select instructional methods, materials, and techniques to meet multiple needs. A carefully planned approach that includes direct and explicit instruction--as well as extensive opportunities for reading, writing, speaking, and listening--can help…

Views the classroom teacher's role as collaborator in research and as individual scholar from a historical perspective, considers some of the values and shortcomings in these trends, and suggests some projects in the language arts that may be of interest to the teacher scholar. (HOD)

Sees reading not as a subject to be taught but as an integral part of an open classroom that fosters some basic principles of learning. (TO)

Reports on a study in which the reading, language arts, and spelling achievement test scores of pupils who had completed six years of nongraded elementary reading instruction without marks were compared with those of pupils who had received traditional, graded instruction with marks. (HOD)

Uses a thematic unit on Japan to show how software can become an additional resource for elementary students' literacy learning in social studies, science, language arts, and art. Notes that the five-week unit addresses Japan's culture and customs. (RS)

Discusses how a fourth-grade language arts teacher (who had moved from basal instruction to a program based on students' selection of literature) used "circle discussions" to satisfy, in part, the accountability concerns of parents and administrators. Notes that these discussions of literature among the students became an integral part…

Reports on the wide array of instructional resources created by teachers and students on the Internet as they envision new possibilities for literacy and learning, transform existing technologies to construct this vision, and share it with others. Describes central sites for Internet project descriptions, stories of teachers' journeys, exceptional…

Describes "Character Interviews," a class activity that guides children, especially reluctant readers, to the meaning of a story through a thoughtful understanding of character as they consider a character's emotions and motives, to respond to a question as that character would. Describes the interview process. Offers sample interviews…

This article opens with vignettes of two classroom teachers who use music and drama as core strategies to introduce, develop, and follow-up on a reading lesson during an integrated social studies unit. These examples introduce an expanded definition of literacy that includes use of language and the arts as equal communication partners. A case is…

A thorough knowledge of the relationship of language and reading will lead to more effective teaching than following a list of basic skills. (MKM)

Provides a picture of remedial reading instruction based on three views: (1) an observational study of Chapter l programs; (2) an observational study of 79 Chapter l teachers in a large city; and (3) an analysis of the case reports of a college reading clinic. Calls for reform based on theory and research. (NH)

Offers suggestions from six contributors regarding a variety of classroom activities, including the use of high interest-low vocabulary books with gifted and average readers, an exercise in sequencing, a Halloween project to improve students' grammar, a technique to improve students' dictionary skills, and methods for helping students write books.…