With the concise and readable "Brain Words," you will learn how children's brains develop as they become readers and discover ways you can take concrete steps to promote this critical developmental passage. Introducing their original, research-based framework of "brain words"--dictionaries in the brain where students store and…

Based on a diagnosis of the problems in the traditional way of teaching English reading in China, this paper introduces the "whole language" theory and explores its application to the teaching of English reading. To begin with, it demonstrates the various problems in the teaching of English reading which severely prevent the improvement…

Suggests that traditional measurement-based approaches to evaluation are theoretically inappropriate in whole-language classrooms. Argues that responsive evaluation can be applied at the classroom level and that the data generated will tell more about children's developing control of language than standardized tests do. (RJC)

When commercially available tests failed to match their whole-language instructional practices, resource teachers in a Canadian school district developed their own instrument. Assembled over a five-year period, the Multi-Layered Assessment Package (MAP) is a set of procedures accompanied by suggested books, transcripts, and retelling and recording…

A private day school, Willie Ross School for the Deaf, designed a whole-language approach to reading appropriate for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. This article compares traditional and psycholinguistic approaches to reading, describes the early childhood classroom environment, and presents a lesson using folktales. An assessment checklist is…

Outlines the main purposes of student evaluation. Suggests observation as an alternative to testing. Offers suggestions for keeping anecdotal records and a format for record sheets or class notebooks. Recommends that students keep records and maintain folders of their work. Cites an approach for teaching self-evaluation. Suggests helping students…

Presents a case study of a nine-year-old boy's reading and writing difficulties. Notes that instruction grounded in sociopsycholinguistics, whole language, and emergent literacy helped the learner overcome his difficulties. Provides an account of alternative approaches in assessing written language difficulties; and the role of the reader's belief…

Asserts that the whole-language approach requires broader evaluation procedures most often associated with alternative assessment methods. Discusses issues related to alternative assessment, such as goal setting, portfolios, and interrater reliability, as they apply to social studies. (CFR)