In informational texts, when the identities of the narrators are inconsistent with the identities of the writers, can such text be classified as nonfiction? In this article, we examine the relationship between the writer and the narrator of informational nonfiction books in alignment with the ELA Common Core State Standards for reading in grades…

Clinical Question: Do students with language disorders and those who have low language skills benefit more from classroom-based instruction on narratives or from instruction outside of the classroom to improve comprehension of and retelling of narratives? Method: Systematic Review. Search Terms: narrative intervention AND service delivery,…

Here, at "FORUM's" invitation, is the text of the 2014 Godfrey Thomson Trust public lecture at the University of Edinburgh. Its backdrop is the centralisation of educational decision-making in England since 1988 and the power and patronage exercised by the Secretary of State. Taking as examples recent policies on childhood, curriculum…

Forty middle-class American mothers and their preschool children were observed in a narrative activity which involved telling a story using the Berenstain Bears Play Set as a stimulus. The goal of the study was to examine the presence of story grammar elements in both maternal and preschool narratives. In addition, the study sought to explore the…

Increased immigration in Europe and worldwide has led to more pre- and primary school students being educated through the medium of a second language, and there is considerable research, much of it coming from Australia, to suggest that in order to cope with this situation, children will need to begin to acquire, from their earliest years in…

In 1991, David Macaulay was awarded the Randolph Caldecott Medal for his picturebook, "Black and White" (1990). He believed the Caldecott committee's choice communicated many messages to readers of all ages: "that it is essential to see, not merely to look; that words and pictures can support each other; that it isn't necessary to think in a…

Investigation of learning-disabled elementary school students' (N=29) ability to comprehend narrative text when important information was systematically dispersed or centralized within the text revealed no significant effect for input mode on measures of comprehension and recall. (Author/CB)

The children's use of cohesion in spoken narratives was compared across three groups of children all between seven and 10 years old: normal, language disordered with good story comprehension, and language disordered with poor story comprehension. Good comprehending language disordered and normal children used similar linguistic cohesive…

Forty language-disordered and nondisordered elementary children viewed a nonverbal film, wrote the story, and narrated it to language-disordered and nondisordered peers unfamiliar with the film. Language-disordered Ss made fewer references to the orientation clauses of props and activities than nondisordered Ss. Neither group modified their…

Examines and characterizes student use of narrative and paradigmatic expression in elementary science discourse. Focuses on the narrative and paradigmatic modes of expression used by combined first-, second-, and third-grade students in a semi-structured, fairly autonomous, whole-class conversational format. Over time students moved toward more…

Explores what effects pictures have on the concepts of immediate-engaging, distant-engaging, and distancing first-person narration. Considers how a pictorialized (as opposed to an illustrated) narrative involves different dynamics of engagement than a purely verbal narrative. (SG)

Among results of a comparison of 20 language disordered and 20 control children (ages 7-10) were that only the nonhandicapped children changed the number of complete episodes narrated as a function of the listener's shared information, while neither group altered the accuracy of conjunctive use as a function of the listener. (Author/DB)

Considers how in the fantasy series "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "His Dark Materials," by C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman respectively, the authors use symbols and themes from "Paradise Lost." Notes that each author's narrative choice uses his view of cosmic order to persuade readers that obedience should be…

Spontaneously generated oral stories were analyzed from 93 learning-disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) students (8-13 years old). Results showed significant group and age differences. The stories told by the LD Ss contained fewer propositions and complete episodes and contained significantly fewer minor setting statements than those of…

Decries the way in which British education has reduced or eliminated the animation or essence of narrative. Explores the features that give narrative importance broader and deeper than the purely literary values customarily given it, and provides a rationale for keeping storytelling in the curriculum to enhance students' writing. (HTH)