After viewing sequences of pictures that depicted a problem, children produced stories with plots and character responses. After sequences of uneventful pictures, children produced stories that focused on actions and used simple connectives. First graders' stories contained more goals, complex language, and temporal connectives than did those of…

A case study examined the whole-part application of the language experience approach to reading as used for students whose reading development is severely delayed. The subject, a third-grade female student reading on the first-grade level as determined by the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised (Woodcock, 1987), participated in a reading…

Describes a year-long study in a whole-language classroom of second-grade students' use of gendered language during informal interactions in writers' workshop. Points out the importance of intent in the process of communication. (SR)

Discusses the use of story frames as a strategy for teaching reading comprehension to first grade students, and includes examples of student responses. (JC)

To better understand the early stages of literacy, a study investigated how young children learn about the registers of the written story genre. Subjects, 47 kindergraten children, were individually read to and then asked to "pretend-read" one or two selected picture storybooks on three consecutive days; their readings were audiotaped…

An example of reader, writer, and text transaction and interaction may be seen in a study that examined story grammar and applied propositional analysis, cohesive analysis, and miscue analysis to one reader and one text to determine comprehension. A third grade boy read and then retold the story "The Accident." The miscues were marked,…

Describes using drama to provide constant scaffolding as children learn to write stories. The 5-week process begins with collaboratively setting the stage, proceeds with scaffolding for reviewing the elements of stories (punctuation, the sequence of events, characterization, the plot problem and solution), and concludes with independent projects…

This book helps teachers introduce story elements to children in the primary grades. The book's lessons and activities complement the learning goals teachers have for their classes. The book is divided into sections on character, plot, setting, and theme. It has an introduction at the beginning of each section to bring the learning goals for that…

To encourage children's creative writing in a classroom setting, student teachers used two types of children's books as models: (1) a traditionally structured picture book in which the story maintains strong development of plot, setting, and characters as in "Peter Rabbit"; and (2) a predictable pattern book that develops a repetitive pattern as…

Based on the hypothesis that teachers' naturally occurring presentations of storyreading have an effect on children's literacy learning, a study examined whether teachers can be trained to provide a structure for listening to stories and whether this type of presentation would result in significant gains in children's story understanding. Five…

Describes the Graphic Story Writer system, which was written to explore ways in which a computer can simulate the presence of an active listener for early readers and preliterate children as they explore story construction. An authoring tool that allows adults or more advanced students to create or edit new scenarios is also described. (Contains…