Almost every first grade has at least one Peter, one youngster who delivers the important note from his mother at the end of the day instead of in the morning and yet, he is not making much progress toward learning to read and write. He has all the characteristics that mark him as being one of those children who will struggle throughout his school…

Explores first graders' written responses to literature in dialogue journals, particularly what functions student and teacher responses serve, and what patterns of student response develop over time. Finds that journal writing offers potential for a wide variety of reader response functions. Notes an overemphasis on teacher questioning. (SR)

Examines the strategies first grade students use when reading two types of materials--basal and student-authored. Finds that children used more efficient strategies and had better comprehension when reading student-authored stories. (MM)