Argues that "whole language" is a philosophy that places meaning making at the center of learning and instruction. Suggests that literature and a literature-based program play a critical role in the classroom and in developing student motivation. Suggests that the teacher is the critical facilitator for meaning making in an interactive…

Whole language may be described as authentic and purposeful experiences with language in a child's natural environment--it is a philosophy that combines all content area subjects into a meaningful process. The teaching of whole language over the entire spectrum of the curriculum was observed in the Catholic Primary Schools of the Archdiocese of…

Enlarges the phonics/whole language debate by focusing on the classroom teacher's evolving role. Whole language instruction involves a fundamental change in a teacher's belief system concerning classroom culture. A complex paradigm shift is needed from teachers' transmission of knowledge to students' transaction or engagement with constructing…

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…

A study critically reviews the practices and purposes of the new basal reading series and the whole language philosophy. The study explores the possibility of a comprehensive adoption of either program or a combination of both. Results of the review indicate the desirability of using the whole language philosophy and creating a classroom that is…

Suggests that a goal of schooling should be to educate students for democracy as a means of challenging a status quo in which a relatively small number of people control a disproportionate share of society's social and economic resources. Examines the potential of critical, pro-justice, whole-language instruction to help create the conditions for…

Questions about gifted readers and how best to teach them have been posed for years and continue to be posed by educators today. A review of current research helps to clarify how to identify gifted readers and what they need in the way of classroom instruction. The general consensus is that reading programs for the gifted should be specialized and…

Conversations with special educators indicates that many view the whole language approach as, at best, a fad and at worst, an assault on what they know about how to effectively teach students with disabilities. In the current atmosphere of increased interest in collaboration between special and general education to better meet the needs of…

This book explores the question of how students become thoughtful, independent readers who deeply understand what they read by examining the thought processes of proficient readers. The book then uses these processes as models for the strategies it offers--strategies intended to help children become more flexible, adaptive, independent, and…

The grassroots movement of whole language philosophies and their applications continue to be attempted by classroom teachers. However, even though educators have been provided with whole language theoretical foundations formulated through solid research conducted in the past 20 years, application into theory involves much more than traditional…

Addressing the issues of how phonics is handled in whole language classrooms and the role that phonics plays in reading and learning to read, the content of this book is rooted in the language stories and literacy lessons of teachers' observations of at-risk children learning to read. The book begins with an introduction to one whole language…

The Whole Language Pilot Project in Tennessee was designed to respect teachers' judgments, to assume that their current practices are effective given the circumstances in which they work, and to offer whole language principles and practices as alternatives for teachers' consideration. The major vehicle for helping teachers understand whole…

Discusses the role of the intermediate whole-language teacher, including creating a proper environment, emphasizing meaning, encouraging risk taking, providing sufficient learning time, focusing on students, encouraging collaboration, using whole pieces of language, using the best literature, teaching skills in context, evaluating, and integrating…

Noting that current theory and practice in literacy education emphasizes the importance of student independence, autonomy, and choice (commonly referred to as "ownership"), this book presents 14 essays that discuss what ownership means and how teachers can encourage students to take responsibility for their learning. Although student…

This handbook offers teachers suggestions for ways to help students become risk-takers. Five levels of risk-taking behavior are identified: the uninhibited risk-taker, the analytical risk-taker, the cautious risk-taker, the inhibited risk-taker, and the nonrisk-taker. The importance of risk-taking for problem solving, and the teacher's role in…