Illustrates how examination of children's "condensed" utterances can reveal the emergence of complex thought processes. Shows how these expressions, often brief and easily overlooked, when negotiated and probed by the teacher, reveal multiple connections, the drawing of analogies, divergent frames of reference, intertextual…

Explores children's spoken narratives and the quality and purpose of Sharing Time in the classroom. Considers the quality and effects of teacher responses to students' talk. (HTH)

Describes the experiences of two teachers as they examined transcripts of children's conversations in book sharing sessions. Finds that the common ordinary exchanges which initially worried the teachers frequently served definite and significant purposes. (SR)

Presents observations of 15-member literature discussion group in a fifth-grade classroom. Shows that even in such groups, intended to create a more democratic forum where students' voices are heard and valued, factors like gender, cultural background, and status play a role in whose ideas get expressed and are actually listened to. (SR)