This book is based on the belief that learners who are making meaning draw simultaneously on different dimensions of knowing--different forms of expression, different kinds of ideas, and different cultural frameworks. When honored and recognized in the classroom these differences create a richer way to explore the path to knowledge, according to…

After analyzing the leading theories on reading instruction and noting their advantages and limitations, this updated book presents a specific combined approach to reading instruction which draws on the proved strengths of older methods while avoiding their failures. This approach centers around training in effective use of the teacher-pupil…

Combining the language experience approach and phonics instruction, this guide provides parents and early childhood teachers a comprehensive resource for developing a strong foundation for pre-readers. The guide offers over 1,000 activities, games, fingerplays, songs, tongue-twisters, poems, and stories for the letters of the alphabet to develop a…

Providing a practical look at the role of spelling in the overall language arts curriculum, this book helps those who interact regularly with young children understand how learning to spell is part of the broader fabric of learning to write in whole language classrooms. After an introduction, chapter 1 provides opportunities to explore how…

Suggesting that every child has the right to know first-hand the power and possibility that comes from being a literate individual, this textbook offers prekindergarten through primary education preservice teachers the opportunity to participate in the thinking and decision making that face teachers of young children. Selected theoretical…

Based on the belief that language should be the central focus for study in the reading and language arts classroom, this collection presents 10 diverse viewpoints on language study in the middle school and secondary school. The collection is divided into the following areas: studying language through literature and the arts, using writing and…

Based on the belief that the teaching and learning of language are inextricably intertwined, this book addresses the challenge of providing an integrated language arts program in the elementary and middle school level that bridges traditional instruction and thematic, whole language, or literature-based instruction. The book also presents ways to…

This book describes a whole language program that has as its ultimate goal the creation of students who read competently, critically, and joyfully, far beyond the classroom door. The book urges teachers to move beyond the skills-based approach and to embrace a philosophy that begins with the heart--rather than the head--of the learner. The book…

This book aims to help teachers who are committed to whole language principles explain the philosophy to their students' parents. It addresses the concerns of parents who most likely grew up in a traditional, teacher-centered educational system, and who therefore might be unfamiliar with a whole language approach to language arts. Drawing on work…

Intended as a text for prospective primary through middle-school teachers in their professional year of training or for experienced teachers taking in-serivce courses, this book offers practical information, suggested activities, and theoretical background to help teachers learn how to structure, plan, and execute a whole-language program.…

This book is designed to give parents and teachers of children with Down syndrome and other developmental delays an alternative reading program. The program is based on a functional, language-experience approach which attempts to compensate for common deficits in auditory memory and verbal skills. The seven chapters of Part 1 describe how children…

Focusing on the development of literacy, this book discusses the teaching of reading and writing through stories, songs, and poetry. It is argued that, to develop literacy, teachers must know what to teach, how to Teach efficiently, and how to assign practices through which children learn. The book is organized into three general parts. The first…

Designed primarily for use with basal reader instruction, this book describes over fifty reading instruction strategies and practices. The book is divided into the following 11 units: (1) "Lesson Frameworks"; (2) "Comprehension and Content Area Reading Strategies"; (3) "Strategies for Responding to Reading as Writers"; (4) "Text-Based…

The continuing theme of these conferences is: "Reading, the Process of Creating Meaning for Sensed Stimuli." The special theme of this 1983 anniversary conference is: "Reading Reading: 50th Anniversary Perspectives." The proceedings in this yearbook reflect the retrospective and prospective emphasis of the special theme.…

This book describes the special way one teacher, Jeanette Amidon, approaches children's thinking, with a particular focus on reading and writing instruction. The root value of her first-grade classroom in Massachusetts is respect for children's ideas, with the children's art and writing as visible signs of the teacher's respect for their thinking.…