This paper explores how five third-graders constructed meaning in three school-based literacy participation structures, also examining teachers' invitations and the space they make for students' talk and students' comprehension practices. High-stakes assessments and mandated reading curriculum influence how comprehension is framed and how students…

Roser discusses how both teachers and librarians, whom she calls the preservers of children's reading, should cling tightly to three essential practices to ensure that our children read more, read better, and read more widely. She argues we should: a) keep the classroom library viable; b) preserve, protect, and defend time for self-selected…

Comprehension has often been conceptualized in ways that privilege either the "right" understanding of a text (comprehension-as-outcome), or getting to that "right" understanding (comprehension-as-procedure). This article makes a case that we should, instead, teach with an eye toward fostering comprehension-as-sense-making--a socially purposeful…

Reports on observations of classrooms serving Native American students and offers conclusions concerning the type of classroom setting and language arts program most likely to optimize the linguistic development of the students. (DD)

An interview with Michael Stubbs, lecturer in linguistics at the University of Nottingham, regarding the sociolinguistics of the classroom. (DD)

Describes one teacher's systematic inquiry into the effectiveness of strategies to increase students' vocabularies. A research-type approach indicated that use of clarity statements and interchanges that encouraged connections to the students' own lives seemed more effective in helping students incorporate their understanding of concepts with…

Describes a method for developing after-reading questions devised from a story map of the text's main events and ideas, both explicit and implicit, in order to guide comprehension, rather than just assess it. (HTH)

Describes how to analyze children's talk in three categories: factual reporting, interpretive reporting, and reasoning. (DD)

Presents annotations of eight books in which teachers talk about their classrooms, reflecting upon the kinds of interactions they seek to promote among learners and the environments they have created in their schools. (SR)

Illustrates how children's "poetic voices in action" provide context for the writing of poetry. Describes how the author taped hours of classroom interaction and the talk that surrounded the children's writing, browsing, reading and performance of poetry. Shares examples of reflective voices at play. Examines ways in which teachers can…

Explores materials in the ERIC system dealing with the turn-taking model of classroom interaction between teacher and students. (HTH)

Describes how teachers can demonstrate love for their students. Relates anecdotes showing loving interactions between students and teachers. (MM)

Discusses a classroom where children from many cultures use talk to share and discover the "big" questions in their lives and where the teacher discovers what the critical issues for her and her students really are. (RS)

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." This is a well-known adage with which many are familiar. Children learn it from an early age as they begin to walk, ride their bike, or tie their shoes. Adults repeatedly encourage children by saying, "You can do it! Give it a try! Just try harder!" However, when trying harder…

Examines requests for information and action in peer-directed groups of children engaged in learning specific skills. Concludes that (1) children who use information requests effectively obtain higher test scores, (2) children can help each other learn, and (3) encouraging small group talk about a task promotes academic and social learning. (HTH)