This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) prekindergarten screening and first grade reading achievement; (2) the influence of the instructional environment on children's acquisition of reading; (3)…

Noting that teacher education students are unfamiliar with the censorship issue, this paper discusses three kinds of censorship the pre-service English teacher can be expected to face, and suggests ways to prepare them to recognize and remedy anticipated problems. The essay identifies the first kind of censorship as that imposed by English…

This fourth book in the Urban Language Series is concerned with the relationship of language to reading. Literacy must be based on the language the child actually uses. In the case of ghetto children, materials in their dialect must be prepared so that their task of associating sounds and words with written symbols is not complicated by lack of…

The study identified primary grade-level materials that might be useful in helping children considered socioeconomically disadvantaged to secure personal identities and self-awareness in relation to the social and economic systems around them. Major project activities were: (1) developing pertinent course-level goals for career and consumer…

Language arts teaching is supposed to be based on the principle of starting where the child is and communicating to him through channels which he has at that point, in language which is familiar to him, and with illustrative concepts with which he is familiar. Beginning materials in this area, however, have made only minor strides to this goal and…

Although there might not be any one solution to the problems of how and when to introduce literature effectively into the college language curriculum, stress, at any level, should be placed both on student enjoyment and the relevancy and difficulty of the reading materials selected. College language teachers must investigate (1) what constitutes…

Project CREATES stands for Combined Resources for Editing Automated Teaching to Enlighten Students, the Harvard University Computer-Aided Instruction Laboratory's part of "A Multi-Agency Developmental Adult Basic Education Program." The major emphases of Project CREATES have been in the area of program and procedure development for…

Defends the study of literature in the elementary and secondary grades for its ability to help students think both creatively and critically. Provides objectives for teaching literature such as development of perception, expression, cognitive style, aesthetic awareness, moral values, and writing ability. (SRT)

Considers literature as something different from the texts themselves (specifically, a way of reading that includes the writer, the text, and the reader) so that the purposes of teachers and readers may be considered, and a flexible approach to selection, organization, and pedagogy be permitted. (SRT)

Discusses the teachers' and the students' roles in the selection of literature to be taught, developing a selection policy, the place of the classics in literature curriculum, and the connection between literature and values education. (SRT)

This article reports a six-month study that used a matched-pairs pre-test, post-test control group design to measure the relative effectiveness of extensive reading with remedial reading students in a Philippines secondary school (n = 60). Ninety percent of students at the school come from low-income homes where reading materials tend to be…

Examines a selective sampling of children's novels that exhibit different views toward slavery and the Civil War, based on gender, race, geographic location, and national origin. Briefly summarizes these selections and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. (MJP)

The 1994 "Read Around the Clock" manual is a resource guide that can lead from planning to evaluating the summer program. The imaginations of librarians across the state have provided creative ideas tied to history, science, music, and literature, with an abundance of programming ideas. Chapters include: (1) "Warm-Up…

A framework for using the outdoors as a vehicle for providing meaningful language arts experiences is presented in this guide geared toward intermediate students but adaptable for other ages. The introduction outlines goals of language arts instruction and notes that activities conducted outdoors contribute to these goals because they are…

THIS GUIDE PRESENTS A VARIETY OF MATERIALS, METHODS, AND IDEAS FOR TEACHING FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE ADULTS (WITH LESS THAN GRADE 4 READING ABILITY). EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON HELPING ADULTS TO READ INDEPENDENTLY AND TO ATTAIN A LEVEL OF SKILL SUFFICIENT FOR EVERYDAY READING TASKS. THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS DEAL WITH THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM OF…