Presents a case study of a sixth grade teacher trying to increase her use of literature for language arts instruction. Shows the challenges and successes of attempting to get better at teaching. (PRA)

Determines whether reading comprehension scores of intermediate-grade language-deficient students improved with use of literature-based integrated language (whole language) instruction. Finds a significant gain after 25 weeks of instruction. Suggests that the effectiveness of whole language instruction may be significantly enhanced with the use of…

Compares whole language, literature-based, and basal reader literacy instruction in terms of the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey, the Reader Self-Perception Scale, and the Writer Self-Perception Scale. Finds that a literature-based approach to reading and writing appeared to exert superior impact on intermediate-aged children's affective…

A study elaborated a profile of four northeastern Ohio middle-grade teachers who incorporated whole language instruction into their classrooms. The overarching question investigated was how middle grade teachers proceeded to configure whole language instruction in their classrooms. Teachers for the study were selected based on their use of and…

"Sharing the ownership of knowing" (a constructivist concept of motivation for literacy learning) is a dynamic classroom interaction in which a teacher's constructivist epistemological stance facilitates students' sense of their own construction of meaning and the integrity of their own thinking. Sharing the ownership of knowing was one…

Argues that California's low fourth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress reading scores between 1987 and 1992 were not related to the whole-language approach to reading instruction introduced in 1987. Suggests that low scores are caused by limited student access to books in school and public libraries. (Contains 36 references.) (PKP)

A continuing longitudinal study examined students' perceptions of their learning and motivation in a whole language classroom setting. Subjects, 14 fifth- or sixth-grade students who collaborated in the inquiry as co-researchers, were interviewed in depth. The mixed fifth- and sixth-grade classroom at the "Willow School" in southern…

This study compared reading rates of three students with reading disabilities and five nondisabled students, all fourth graders. Students were tested on their reading rates on self-selected passages (whole language approach) and on controlled, curriculum-based measurement materials. No significant differences were found between groups of students…

A month-long study examined students' attitudes toward aspects of a specific reading workshop based on the whole language theory of instruction. Of the 23 students in a fifth-grade classroom, 11 became part of the experimental group who participated in the process which incorporated four primary aspects of language arts: reading, writing,…

An ethnographic study described a successful educational environment for students from low-income families and examined what it is about those environments that makes them successful. The subject class was a combined fourth and fifth grade class at Taft Elementary School in a predominantly African American working class community two miles from…

Describes how, in one Texas fifth-grade classroom, Shared Inquiry book discussions were taught and implemented over a six-month period in connection with the Junior Great Book Series. Discusses solutions to the dilemma of grading these active class discussions, and reports that scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) tests were…

Second graders taught by the whole language approach produced better writing samples, for content and meaning, than did second graders taught by the traditional approach. No differences were evident in the use of mechanics. Sixth grade samples evidenced no difference between the two approaches. (IAH)

This study compares a traditional method of social studies teaching to a literature based approach. The study sought to compare student attitude, achievement, and retention of the material presented. The study involved 37 fifth-graders, one class using a literature based approach and the other traditional textbook teaching. Content objectives for…

Describes an ethnographic study conducted in a grade four classroom during language arts instruction to discover patterns of a traditional approach, a whole-language approach, or a combination of the two. Compares and contrasts traditional and whole-language approaches according to specific dimensions: concept of learning, curriculum, pedagogy,…

This descriptive study looked at the provision of differentiated language arts instruction for gifted students by means of whole language instruction approaches in regular classes. Two classrooms in each of two elementary schools were identified as exemplary whole language classrooms and each contained several students identified for school gifted…