To make writing public, the writer must have an audience. A cooperative and caring environment that invites children to share and respond is the type of supportive environment in which children's reading and writing can flourish. Children who have not published do not write for an audience, but instead write for a critical reader--the teacher.…

Arguing that schools need to prepare all children to become competent citizens and to create an environment that fosters mutual understanding, this Digest discusses multicultural children's literature in the elementary classroom. It discusses the importance of multicultural children's literature and presents guidelines for selecting multicultural…

This digest discusses some of the ways children develop functional phonics knowledge in the context of authentic reading and writing, as well as some of the ways teachers can foster such development. The digest suggests that children develop phonics knowledge by: having familiar stories or poems read to them repeatedly; discussing letter/sound…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest provides a rationale for an integrated language arts curriculum. The digest first defines integrating the language arts curriculum as providing natural learning situations in which reading, writing, speaking, and listening can be developed together for real purposes and…

Noting that multiage classes during the elementary school years have been an option of educational practice in the United States since the introduction of graded education in the 19th century, this digest discusses the research on multiage education and its impact on academic achievement. Despite inconsistencies in research findings, those studies…

Noting that multiage classes during the elementary school years have been an option of educational practice in the United States since the introduction of graded education in the 19th century, this digest, written in Spanish, discusses the research on multiage education and its impact on academic achievement. The digest points out that despite…

This digest deals with within-class reading ability grouping. The digest discusses limitations of grouping; teacher attitudes; student recollections of ability grouping experiences; and grouping for specific purposes (focusing on cooperative learning and its benefits). The digest suggests that good teachers who provide supportive environments for…

This Digest recounts the varied experiences, for both elementary school students and teachers, of producing a classroom newspaper. In the particular instance discussed in the Digest, for the students, it was a chance to collaborate with their peers, to pursue their own special interests, and to see their work published. For the teacher-adviser, it…

The incidence of multiple births has increased dramatically in the past two decades. Given this trend, it seems reasonable to assume that many teachers will have twins and other multiple siblings in their classes at some point in their classroom careers. This Digest offers some pointers for educators facing the challenges of educating multiples.…

In most elementary classrooms, some students struggle with learning, others perform well beyond grade-level expectations, and the rest fit somewhere in between. Within each of these categories of students, individuals also learn in a variety of ways and have different interests. To meet the needs of a diverse student population, many teachers…

"Looping" is an essentially simple concept: a teacher moves with his or her students to the next grade level, rather than sending them to another teacher at the end of the school year. This Digest explores the practitioners' perspectives on looping, the experience of European school systems, and research on looping. Practitioners report…