This paper argues for a Black epistemological literacy education by centering Black equity in the process of teaching literacy methods. I offer a pedagogical model that stems from my own experiences disrupting required elementary literacy methods courses. My approach utilizes Black Language to illustrate the linguistic, sociocultural, and…

Black students and their linguistic resources are undervalued, disdained, disrespected, and disregarded in language arts classrooms. Not only is Black Language often ignored in English language arts instruction, but language more generally remains largely hidden within elementary ELA. Elementary ELA educators are tasked with teaching a vast array…

Told from the perspective of two early career professors teaching courses in elementary education diversity, this study uses purposive sampling and qualitative methodologies to examine how white students with impervious dispositions that would likely not qualify them to work with diverse children at this point in their lives present us with…

Purpose: This study explored the type and adequacy of cohesive devices that are produced by school-age children who use African American English (AAE). Method: The language samples of 33 African American children, ages 7, 9, and 11 years, were transcribed, analyzed, and coded for AAE use and cohesive adequacy (e.g., personal reference,…

Production and perception of word-final "th" was assessed among 40 Black English- and 40 standard English-speaking children from grades one to four. The two dialectal groups were significantly different in production but not in perception of the word-final "th." Sequential developmental stages for the acquisition of word-final "th" are proposed…

Discusses the contributions of Louise Bennett in depicting Jamaican folklore. (MM)

Teacher attitude remains the crucial variable, and it spells success or failure for many students speaking Black English in the public schools. (Author/IRT)

Seventy-two lower-class black children were given tests of grammatical contrasts and production. The results indicated that comprehension of both easy and hard contrasts in both black and standard English increased with age in a parallel fashion, but that the production of black English decreased with age. (JMB)

Suggests that Ebonics deserves respect as a genuine spoken dialect, widely used and important in American culture. Notes that students who are fluent in it benefit when they are allowed to add standard English to their repertoire and taught the appropriate occasions for each way of speaking. (RS)

A review of research which concludes that there is no cause and effect relationship between speech errors and spelling errors, that there is a relationship between Black English and certain spelling errors, and that there is conflicting evidence on the use of intensive phonics in spelling programs. (DD)

The pros and cons of teaching Black English in the elementary schools are presented by Thomas Brown (principal, Longfellow Elementary School--pro) and Orlando L. Taylor (Howard University--con). (KC)

On all three tests, learning disabled children scored lower than control children. Also, the effect of removing dialect miscues as errors caused an overall increase in reading scores on all three tests. (Author/SB)

Students speaking Black English should not be singled out or isolated. Their dialect, like that of others whose English is accented, can contribute to the cultural richness of American classrooms at the same time that the schools are teaching these students to read and write standard English. (Author/MLF)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the grammatical features of their dialect on the reading comprehension of speakers of a black nonstandard dialect of English. Subjects were 119 fifth grade speakers of black English (BE) in 13 classes in three semirural school districts of a southern state. An oral test in standard English…

Argues that books written in Black English should be used as supplementary materials in a classroom reading program; lists 22 such books and provides a plot synopsis for each book, information about estimated readability and interest levels, and language samples. (ET)