Suggests that the dangers and risks in whole language are real and irremedial, and educators' only recourse is to take responsibility for its shadow side and attempt to learn the lessons that even "monstrous examples" portend. (RS)

This annotated bibliography of material from the ERIC database presents 87 annotations on the topic of the "whole" whole-language debate. Entries in the bibliography are grouped under the topics of philosophy and analysis; the struggle for a definition; comparative analyses of whole language versus traditional approaches; and application…

The "whole language approach" has generated much controversy among educators, who have agreed on the importance of language in the early years but have not reached consensus on the most effective approach to employ. Whole language is viewed as a developmental process. Research, conducted since the mid-1980s, has shown that whole language is an…

Discusses designing, initiating, and collecting observational data from a program designed for a multicultural inner-city kindergarten classroom to teach emergent literacy, to use picture books representing children's cultures, and to share responsibility for children's own learning by freely initiating interactions with print materials. Notes…