Describes a two-week unit about Benjamin Franklin, and discusses what happens when 9- and 10-year olds use their own language and life experiences to learn new content. (SR)

Interviews Dr. Ramon Ross of San Diego State University, an experienced author and teacher. Discusses the relationship between writing and literature, and suggests techniques for using the two in harmony. (SR)

Offers a four-step procedure that can be used to help upper elementary school students learn to write a well-structured expository paragraph. Suggests that the writing experience is a bridge to understanding more difficult text structure. (FL)

Describes author-reader-text interactions which play roles in both revision in writing and critical reading. Examines the processes of revision in writing and critical reading as thought processes mirroring one another. Presents two examples of group classroom activities which nurture revision in both writing and critical reading. (MM)

Presents sample questions for use as a guide for teachers to question students about literature and to model effective questioning techniques for them. Details topics, including literary characteristics; setting; vocabulary; general questions; characters; author; plot, theme, mood, and moral; and illustrations-pictures. (KDFB)

Interviews elementary children about their fiction writing to gain a glimpse into how writing teachers might improve their teaching. Found the following three features in students' growing knowledge of characters: characters can elicit readers' empathy, can change the attitude of the readers, and can have a mind of their own. (MG)

Asserts that writing conferences are the heart of teaching writing. Describes use of picture books and writer's circles to improve student reading and writing skills. Reports that students became more confident in analyzing writing genres and more able to write complex narratives. (CFR)

Reading comprehension is much more than a decoding of the printed words on the page; it is, rather, a complex interaction between readers and their personal past experiences as they relate to the text. A connection between the text and past experiences of the readers can stimulate expectations about the text. Facilitating these links presupposes a…

Suggests that the direct teaching of written language features is no substitute for extensive experience of written language. Gives a brief preliminary account of a recent Centre for Language in Primary Education (CLPE) research project on the influence of children's reading of literature on their writing at Key Stage 2. Highlights the value of…

Shares how the author designed reading activities to increase students' understanding of nonfiction by adhering to three principles: purpose, classification, and collaboration. Recounts how students responded to the reading materials and each other as they developed an understanding of the information available to them. (MG)

Explores how students take what they understand through reading and talking about literature and express their ideas in art, drama, music, or math. Argues that one way learners push their understandings and create more complex meanings is through such transmediation. Offers examples of responding to literature through multiple sign systems. (SR)

Intended for elementary teachers, reading specialists, curriculum directors, and teacher trainers, this book provides readers with conceptual and theoretical insights and compelling accounts of classroom practice. The book argues that teaching and learning work best when they occur within a community of learners. The book provides interpretations…

Students in a language arts methods class work in learning teams in literature circles. They read novels, keep journals, and use a variety of strategies in exploring the novels and relating the authors' work and ideas to their own lives. Occasionally, the group is asked to develop questions which they would like to ask the author. Invariably,…

Suggests that Whole Language is not the whole word approach, nor merely teaching skills in context, nor the Language Experience approach, nor a new term for the Open Classroom, but rather a point of view about language, literacy, and content learning. (JC)

Proceeding from a definition of "story schema" as an idealized internal representation of the parts of a typical story and the relationships among those parts, this paper explores the role of story schemata in reading comprehension. The paper also identifies variables that may affect the way in which schemata function and outlines the…