Reviews five sets of thematically related books with the intent of helping instructors make connections between children's literature and real living. Investigates five areas, all broadly speaking to the issue of "security": (1) unsettling experiences; (2) nature study; (3) overcoming evil; (4) exploring adolescent angst; (5) journeying for…

Presents various ways to use quotations in the classroom to stimulate student thinking and introduce new curriculum topics. Suggests that students can construct posters or journals of their favorite quotations, or even create their own proverbial phrases and generalizations. (MDM)

Explores how Laura Ingalls Wilder in her "Little House on the Prairie" book series idealizes the life of settlers in the western American states and intersperses this version with reality. Shows how the cozy family circle provides security in the face of historical and autobiographical opposition. (HB)

Considers several ways to think about the teacher's role in the teaching of reading. Notes that a curriculum built on critical literacy is one that highlights diversity and difference while calling attention to how people are constructed as literate beings. Argues that students should position themselves as social activists who challenge the…

Shares the author's frustrations and some of the complexities involved with constructing a critical literacy curriculum. Explores what might have happened if she had taken up the issues that mattered in her students' lives as text to form the basis for a critical literacy curriculum. (SC)

Suggests that the oral language program can be specifically designed to create an affective focus and provides several strategies for effecting such a goal. (TO)

This paper provides a brief introduction to the principles underlying Charles Fillmore's case grammar, contrasts it with other approaches to grammar, and suggests ways in which case grammar could be used in the language arts curriculum. Examples of the transparencies to which the text refers are included. (AA)

Discusses potential microcomputer applications in the language arts classroom, including computer assisted instruction, computer managed instruction, and information processing. Examines several disadvantages of the current technology such as its emphasis on visual skills at the expense of oral language. (HTH)

Describes the related processes of metaphoric production and comprehension as they are represented by students in the five-to-eleven year age range. Offers guidelines for incorporating the exploration of metaphor in elementary school language programs. (HTH)

Evaluates "English for Ages 5 to 11," a document assessing English education for elementary students in Great Britain. Criticizes the document's conception of English, as well as its proposed attainment targets. (MM)

Lists and describes a number of narrative biographies written for children and concerning the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Points out strengths and weaknesses of the main selections. (HB)

Considers the way two teachers have adopted storytelling as an instructional practice in English teacher preparation courses. Discusses how the "other" is represented in stories and questions the ethics of doing such storytelling. (HB)

Argues that media literacy should become a part of the elementary school curriculum, and provides ways of integrating media studies into the elementary curriculum. Provides a critical framework through which teachers might carry out such an integration, and illustrates the model with the actual success of a particular pilot program. (HB)

Lists 10 activities used to develop and reinforce the concepts of main idea and generalizing, after describing how a particular teacher connected a favorite meal with the understanding of these concepts. (MG)