This document outlines the Michigan Department of Education's (MDE) efforts to improve literacy achievement by providing guidance regarding the establishment of diverse classroom libraries. It also answers the why, what, and how of establishing or refining a diverse library.

As part of integrated instruction, educators aim to efficiently and simultaneously address learning goals across multiple subject areas like English language arts (ELA) and science or social studies. While studies are beginning to show that this instructional approach can be effective, it is challenging to implement in practice, requiring that…

The procedure for selecting books for literature courses in the student-centered curriculum of Rochester, Michigan, public schools consists of ten primary steps. (SJ)

Examines censorship of children's books in 36 school systems in Michigan. Reveals 79 censorship attempts of which 22 were successful during a 5-year period. Finds that adequate school policies and procedures regarding both censorship and the selection of books to be placed in libraries and classrooms are still lacking in a number of school…

DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR 1965-66, GROUPS OF FIRST-GRADE PUPILS IN THE LIVONIA SCHOOL SYSTEM, MICHIGAN, WERE PROVIDED WITH READING INSTRUCTION MATERIALS FROM EIGHT PUBLISHERS REPRESENTING EIGHT APPROACHES AS PART ONE OF A 2-YEAR STUDY. THE MATERIALS WERE THE LIPPINCOTT BASIC READING SERIES, THE SCIENCE RESEARCH ASSOCIATES BASIC READING SERIES, THE…

The Rochester Board of Education had to consider three major principles in the issue of the use of Slaughterhouse Five'' for a high school English course: constitutionality, intellectual freedom, and the right of parents or students to refuse literature on the grounds of obscene or objectional literature. (SJ)

One segment of the public expects the school superintendent to be a censor, and another says he had better not be. The author feels that educational organization is too complex today for a superintendent to take on the role of censor. (Author/SJ)

Historically, censorship of school reading materials has centered on the question of obscenity. The Slaughterhouse Five'' case, however, was unique in that the primary legal issue dealt with the charge that the religious content violated the First Amendment which prohibits advancement or inhibition of religion in public schools. (Author/SJ)

Community vascillation, the inability to adequately identify the opposition or support, and the difficulties of defined audience communication tested basic principles and philosophies of the Rochester Board of Education. (Author/SJ)

Serving as the basis for the first administrative complaint alleging sex discrimination in textbooks to be filed under federal law, the findings presented in this report are based on an analysis, made by parents and citizens in a midwestern city, of 12 texts in the elementary reading program of a major publisher. Generally, the findings are stated…

Describes a summer reading program developed for young adults that features a computerized approach to book selection. Details of the use, rationale, database development, organization and marketing of the program, which was developed by a Michigan library federation, are provided. Sample publicity materials accompany the article. (KRN)

This document presents an interview with Pam Martell, who coordinates educational services to Michigan's approximately 60,000 Native Americans. Since over 98 percent of Michigan's American Indian children attend public schools, Martell places a high priority on the quality of public education. Equally important is working on issues concerning…