Teaching English language learners has long presented challenges for teachers tasked with bringing these students to a level of language comprehension comparable to that of native speakers. These challenges and issues can lead to difficulty comprehending core academic topics for those learning the English language. "Optimizing Elementary…

The article describes ways to use picture books with young children to develop the creative thinking skills, including fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and evaluation. About 50 recommended picture books are listed. (DB)

Defines visual literacy and considers a number of elements of wordless picture books that contribute to the development of visual literacy in students. (FL)

Contends that young children can explore mathematics concepts while they enjoy picture and story books. Recommends specific books for several mathematical concepts. (FL)

Offers a teaching method to help teachers focus on the values embodied in a children's book, their importance, and the ability of children to grasp the book's lesson either independently or with assistance. Lists children's picture books expressing values. (SRT)

Describes ways teachers can use picture books to help children develop their own solutions to art problems. Students are encouraged not to copy pictures but to study artists' techniques and apply them to their own work. A bibliography of useful picture books and other references is included. (AM)

Describes how twelve wordless picture books can be used to encourage the development of children's writing skills. (DD)

Thinking about how published authors get their ideas for stories is one way for children to generate their own story ideas. The article discusses how elementary teachers can use storytelling, reading, examining picture books, and learning writing techniques to help their students select a topic. (SM)

Teaching phonemic awareness can be boring and repetitive in the hands of a teacher who wishes to just use a workbook approach. This delightful book packs loads of fun into 75 lesson plans, providing educators with myriad creative strategies for integrating word study with children's picture books. Each lesson includes a read-aloud book…

Physical educators can use picture books with elementary students to introduce skills and concepts, stimulate creative movement, and integrate learning around themes. Books provide students the opportunity to better understand how movement relates to the world. The article looks at specific books, explaining how they can enhance learning. (SM)

Proposes ways for teachers to integrate visual literacy into the curriculum in order for young people to understand the visual culture they live in. Examples use children's books to explore stereotypes, reading images, artistic style, visual accuracy, and comparisons between books and the audiovisual products upon which they are based. (EM)

This collection of seven essays focuses on the wealth of language learning possibilities that open up when teachers surround children with attractive and well-written books and know how to use them in imaginative ways. It reflects the current movement in elementary education toward child-centered teaching and integrating the language arts. Essays…

Discusses how wordless picture books can be used as instructional aids to teach linguistically/culturally different students. Gives suggestions on how certain of these books can be used to examine differences between cultures. (FL)

Three teachers discuss using picture books to cure reading problems, boost sagging self-concepts, and tutor handicapped children. Techniques for using books are described, as are follow-up activities. Examples of specific books and their uses with hearing and visually impaired children are given. (MT)

Children's picture books, for example Allan Say's "Grandfather's Journey," can provide fresh materials and approaches to teaching reading to students in intermediate grades. One approach for preservice teachers learning to use children's literature might be to begin by planning possible uses for one or more literature selections and then…