Shows how having students write journals about their learning experiences was an effective teaching technique in the primary grades. (RL)

Describes a method of beginning reading instruction that makes use of stories (such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears") already known by children, and cites research studies that provide support for such a method. (GT)

Deaf children need reading programs which emphasize comprehension of meaning rather than syntax and grammar. Successful reading programs can emerge when reading is viewed as a highly social experience, reading materials are meaningful and highly contextualized, and semantic processing in American Sign Language is used to assist reading in English.…

Suggests and lists sources of information on reading instruction that discuss the promotion and enrichment of the interactive learning process between children and their environment based on principles underlying the cognitive-field theory of learning. (MKM)

The inclusion of talk, written language, and body language are critically important in primary classrooms. Although reading and writing may be regarded as cognitive activities, they are embedded in a social/cultural milieu, and the practice of mechanical decoding as a necessary precedent to real reading is not pedagogically sound. A whole class…

Readiness activities are described which are designed to help learning disabled (LD) students learn to perform computations in story problems. Activities proceed from concrete objects to numbers and involve the students in devising story problems. The language experience approach is incorporated with the enactive, iconic, and symbolic levels of…

Utilizes the experiences of seven elementary teachers to examine issues and attitudes concerning whole language learning. Although the seven teachers often feel alienated within their own profession, they remain adamant in their commitment. Discusses their conversion to whole language learning and the influence of the New Zealand school. (MJP)

The paper describes the enactive method, an alternative approach to introducing and teaching reading to young hearing impaired children. The method actively involves the child as a processor of the material rather than as a passive consumer. The approach is established for a short period of time each day until the student outgrows its original…

Describes a pattern book activity that provides a means of introducing and reinforcing high frequency vocabulary within a language experience approach. (FL)

Suggestions are given for analyzing the language used in reading texts for hearing impaired students, and for using the reading text analysis in experience charts, language activities, and speech materials. (CL)

The product of a two-year study investigating the literacy behavior of nine kindergarten students and their classmates, this report first explains the impetus and the theoretical foundations for the investigation and describes its subjects and setting. It then presents the methodology and the data collected from several related studies: (1)…

Spelling should be recognized as a developmental process that is child-initiated and discovery-based. Through use of an integrated whole language approach, children can be provided with opportunities to acquire spelling as a natural language process by beginning at their own developmental level and refining their internal knowledge of word…

This digest links the development of listening comprehension to the emerging reading comprehension of young American Indian students, and suggests ways that teachers can use locally produced materials to enhance young students' emergent literacy. Reading comprehension is the key to literacy, and prior knowledge supports listening and reading…

Shows teachers who use language experience activities in their classrooms how to use microcomputers efficiently to increase students' reading and writing experiences. (RL)

Describes a method for using children's own dictated stories for assessment purposes. (FL)