This comprehensive encyclopedia of children's literature for the lower grades aims to inspire teachers, librarians, and students to delve into picture books and find ways to integrate books into the curriculum. The encyclopedia offers information on themes, focus picture books, and author studies to help educators become familiar with specific…

This book, which uses nursery rhymes as its literature base, represents a non-threatening approach to beginning reading for children in kindergarten through grade 3. The book uses a variety of cross-curricular activities which are built around four familiar nursery rhymes. The book's introduction describes how each rhyme may be used over a 5-day…

This article describes how a teacher at the Manitoba School for the Deaf applied Kaplan's Curriculum Differentiation Model for gifted and talented students to develop a thematic unit ("Patterns") for a grade 3 whole language classroom. (Author/DB)

Noting the importance of whole concept learning as opposed to fragmented non-meaningful facts, this paper presents a unit of study on animal habitats that is geared for a first-grade whole-language classroom in the later stages of the year. The major objective of the unit presented in the paper is for students to be able to identify the habitats…

With the current emphasis on whole language, the use of children's literature as the basis for reading instruction is widespread. Theme units have been suggested as one way to provide stimulating opportunities for children to explore and learn. Whole language based literature theme units emphasize process more than product. Units are designed to…

This book employs a whole language-critical thinking approach to teaching reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking using Caldecott books (with their story-enhancing illustrations) as the literature base. The book uses 15 Caldecott books to model specific instructional strategies, critical thinking strategies, and extended language…

This curriculum unit is designed to give primary school students foreign language experiences and also to support the cultural literacy strand of the California State History-Social Science Framework. The unit is part of an elementary literature series which utilizes quality primary source literature from various world regions and countries and…

Exploring what it means for teachers to generate curriculum with their students and to share the responsibility and joys of deciding what and how students learn, this book describes teachers' own experiences in generating curriculum that integrates social studies, literacy, and whole language. The book presents practical ideas that teachers across…

Discusses the use of mini-lessons within thematic units as forums for language learning and content development for intermediate grade students with hearing impairments. A project to enhance the language arts curriculum at the Nebraska School for the Deaf uses the whole language mini-lessons to work on skill development, clarify misunderstandings,…

A teacher at the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind recounts his experience implementing a whole-language approach with an elementary class of students with hearing impairments. The effort, focusing on insects, utilized dialog journals, word banks, shared reading, guided reading and writing, independent reading, and theme activities. A…

Presents a hands-on approach to developing connections between mathematics and other subject areas by using thematic webbing. Includes a sample brainstorming aid plus a sample web and thematic unit on teddy bears. (Contains 36 references.) (MKR)

An integrated language perspective on teaching in the elementary school is outlined in this book. The text provides the theory on which the perspective is based and provides many examples of how it may be translated into practice. Chapter one provides the general principles of the integrated language perspective. Chapter two describes the…

The Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) represents a long-term effort by Stanford University to improve international and cross-cultural education in elementary and secondary schools. This volume of the elementary literature series focuses on the primary grades; utilizes primary source literature from Japan;…

Describes a preschool class for deaf children co-taught by two teachers (one hearing, one deaf) that uses a whole language approach to build students' American Sign Language (ASL) and written English skills. The class uses a thematic approach to organize learning activities through the creative use of ASL. (DB)

Aimed at helping students in grades 5-8 read and enjoy more varieties of literature as well as promoting more writing, this guide offers materials which use a thematic approach to reading, writing, and literature. The guide provides reproducible and hands-on activity ideas plus bibliographies for the genres of realistic fiction, animal tales,…