Examines the early production of 9 cohesive devices during narration about personal experience in an 18-month longitudinal study of 10 children between the ages of 2 and 3.6. The specification of noun phrases and types of noun errors is explored. (35 references) (GLR)

Describes a model procedure for integrating direct instruction in story structure with reader response to literature in two settings: traditional storybook read-aloud sessions and nontraditional HyperCard computer sessions. (SR)

This article introduces a special section of four papers featuring strategies for improving the story writing skills of elementary and secondary students who have problems with written language. It outlines the elements of story grammar, describes characteristics of students with writing problems, and notes the strategies presented in the four…

This study, involving 16 intermediate-grade children with mild mental retardation, 29 children with learning disabilities, and 37 children without disabilities, found that all groups recalled cohesive story versions better than noncohesive versions. Statements in the stories' causal chain were better recalled than statements not in the causal…

A substantial number of 5-7 year old children experience delayed language development which threatens their progress in school, although they have not been placed on speech and language therapy caseloads. Children with delayed language development typically have a limited ability to understand and tell stories. Intervention to develop the oral…

Purpose: Pragmatic language disorders (PLDs) are difficult to diagnose in a cost-effective manner, and there are few assessment tools that yield quantitative data. This investigation was designed to determine whether two formal assessment tools would differentiate PLDs in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) from controls matched on…

This investigation determined the effects of a treatment programme, "The Expression Connection" (1991), on the language organization of a firstgrade male child with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). The methodology consisted of teaching the child story grammar components and the associated syntax requisite of their use. Treatment was…

This paper reports on a study that attempts to encourage teachers to use a visual and verbal approach to storytelling as a method of critical reflection. It demonstrates and discusses how one teacher uses the visual images to comment critically, adding a playfully ironic dimension to a verbal perspective of everyday teaching activities. Many…

According to recent studies, individuals with hearing loss seem to benefit from certain models or strategies, such as text related questions, designed according to the balanced literacy approach. Questions about story grammar that are asked after reading help readers organize and summarize the text. Therefore, it has been found worth to explore…

Literacy consultant Joan Groeber provides educators with a teacher-friendly, step-by-step guide for creating and using rubrics to assess a wide range of literacy skills. Groeber's approach helps ensure that students gain a clear understanding of teacher expectations and assume a greater responsibility for their own learning. Offering an overview…

In this replication study, supplemental writing instruction in strategic planning was used to improve the story writing ability of young writers with learning disabilities (LD) and poor writing skills. Six 2nd-grade students with learning disabilities who experienced difficulty with story writing were taught a strategy for planning and writing…

A study examined the scripts or schemata--cognitive structures that represent story prototypes--used by African-American children and how they differ from story telling patterns of White middle-class children using a Western, linear "problem solving" story schemata. Samples of oral narratives were collected from 50 African-American…

A study was conducted to identify poor readers and to characterize weaknesses in their knowledge and use of story structure in comprehension and recall. Subjects were 80 year-3 children in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 20 good readers and 60 poor readers. The poor readers were then divided into relatively homogeneous subgroups, using measures…

One of the greatest myths or fictions of nonfiction is that it contains no fiction. Ben Franklin's flight from Boston to Philadelphia illustrates how changes occur in the retelling of the "facts" of a life. In his "Autobiography," Franklin writes that his friend, Collins, arranged for a ship's passage for Franklin by telling…

This study was conducted to examine tutoring as a pedagogical tool to enhance learning in the tutor. Three groups of high school students were subjects of the study. The first group, instructed in a story grammar and its use as a recall apparatus, taught the strategy to younger students; the second, an equivalent group, was given strategy…