Pointing out that understanding, considering, preparing, modeling, teaching, collaborating, assessing, and supporting are steps along the path to using literature in the classroom, the essays in this book provide a solid background for those teachers who are considering making the transition to literature-based instruction in their classrooms.…

This document presents an interview with Pam Martell, who coordinates educational services to Michigan's approximately 60,000 Native Americans. Since over 98 percent of Michigan's American Indian children attend public schools, Martell places a high priority on the quality of public education. Equally important is working on issues concerning…

Peace education is and will continue to be a goal of early childhood educators around the world. A variety of definitions of peace and peace education can be found in the literature. A plethora of resources has become available during the past decade for those wishing to teach peace in educational settings for young children. The literature is…

This book presents practical, theoretically sound guidance about using literature to develop literacy. The prologue to the book describes some aspects of whole language programs at work, relates research findings that underlie the whole language philosophy, and presents scenes of teachers actively using literature in their classrooms. The book is…

This guide provides curriculum developers, education faculty, veteran teachers, and student teachers with basic information on the background of early childhood curriculum, as well as current information on publications, standards, and special materials for early childhood classrooms. Following an introduction, the material is presented in 14…

This document consists of two guides relating to reading with preschool and primary grade children, the first for parents and caregivers providing ideas for making reading aloud with children a natural and enjoyable part of family life, and the second for educators and workshop leaders outlining workshops to encourage family reading. Section 1 of…

This edition is an annotated list of 390 literacy materials for adult new readers. All the materials are written on an eighth-grade level or below. These paperback instructional titles, many in workbook format, are for use with adult basic education (ABE) and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. The introduction includes guidelines for…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on reading programs for gifted readers is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a…

One way that success in integrating literature into middle school classrooms has been achieved is by the systematic study of different genres of literature. Through a variety of activities, students can be engaged in comparisons, contrasts, and other higher-level thinking skills. Response journals, in which students react to their reading by…

Applying reader response theory, a study explored the responses of 19 pregnant adolescents and teenage mothers to two dissimilar young adult novels, one about teenage pregnancy and one about adolescent alcoholism. Quantitative analysis, using a modified version of the Purves-Rippere (1968) system, and qualitative analysis of written answers to…

Prepared to provide direction, help develop instructional units, define skills and concept developments needed for new tasks, coordinate district language arts programs, and disseminate information to other professionals, this guide presents a kindergarten through grade 12 language arts curriculum. A foreword lists the guide's goals, and a…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 18 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) effects of creative drama instruction on the story grammar knowledge of field-dependent and field-independent primary grade students; (2) a content assessment…

In order to prepare children for the responsibilities of citizenship in a technological society, the Science, Technology and Society (STS) approach, which integrates various subject matter disciplines, can be implemented through the use of children's literature. In this way, STS units combine language arts, reading and literature, and teach and…

This paper describes classroom activities developed around constructivist learning theories (that is, students are always learning because they are constantly constructing their own personal meanings and reflecting on them) as they are applied to English as a Second Language and remedial English students in a secondary classroom dominated by…

Memorable language that delights children, makes them laugh or gasp, or causes them to ponder and wonder is the literature that will begin the process of teaching them to read and write. Literature is meant to connect, not with reason primarily, but with readers' and listeners' imaginations and emotions, and in the case of poetry, with something…