Examines professional concerns related to improving children's knowledge of language, determining what knowledge children bring to a learning environment, and promoting children's joy of learning. (RL)

Describes some of the ways in which students can be organized for reading and writing instruction. Suggests that educators must first identify the key components of literacy, then clarify a view of instruction and learning. Argues that recent literacy research has analyzed processes and texts but has overlooked the larger literacy contexts. (SG)

Suggests that children learning English as a second language will profit more from interaction in meaningful situations with native speakers of English than from separate language instruction with other nonnative learners. (DD)

Discusses a theoretical framework that draws together previous research on the role of the educator in children's learning. Urges teachers to create classroom "communities" in which children have some control over their learning environment and interact with teachers and peers to carry out legitimate personal and social tasks. (HTH)

Discusses recent research on social interaction and literacy (the notion that substantive talk is a primary means for becoming literate). Discusses social interaction as a means for learning, as part of literacy periods, and as a means for integrating learning across the curriculum. Discusses the effects of social interaction on literacy learning.…

Outlines the beliefs people have about speech styles, how and why people modify speech styles, and the role of speech style in social identity. Discusses educational implications of these findings. (RL)

Reviews 11 recent books and materials on the subject of literacy development. Groups the reviews into the subjects of overall classroom organization, organizing around literature, organizing around writing, and instructional materials. Notes a greater availability of works designed for use in primary grades than for upper elementary grades. (SG)

Discusses how the socioeconomic "caste system" operates to differentiate education, and addresses questions concerning the definition of mainstream competence and the labeling of students as unfit or incompetent. Discusses the shortcomings of the three solutions for language incompetence. (HTH)

Claims that although a child-oriented classroom is organized by the teacher, the curriculum is enacted by everyone, and that dialogues in which teachers and children develop together provides the core of this enactment. (MM)