Six conceptions prevail about the language experience approach (LEA) although research and practical experience have proven them false. (1) "LEA does not teach basic skills." If basic skills are defined as communication competence, LEA teaches basic communication skills as well as the mechanics of communication. (2) "A language experience…

Article describes ways to help children learn how to give and take directions and improve their language skills at the same time. (GB)

Describes a bilingual open classroom program for kindergarten children in which the classroom environment is rich with printed language and children are introduced to reading by an individualized system they both enjoy and profit from. Tells how children "write" books, how phonics is introduced, and how reading is incorporated in a variety of…

Describes a teaching method involving folk music for enriching language arts programs and developing children's library skills. (HTH)

The readings and activities in this competency unit focus the attention of language arts program advisers and primary grade teachers on language instruction/development that is student-centered instead of program-centered. The first section of the unit shows teachers how to clarify their expectations and objectives concerning language instruction…

Presents the ideas of four elementary school classroom teachers with regard to reading instruction. Includes "An Invitation to Reading Fluency,""Reading Chapter Books for Fun,""Easing the K-1 Transition through Language Experiences," and "A Meeting of Minds: Teaching Using Biographies." (PRA)

Vocabulary development, operationally defined as the isomorphism between an individual's store of concepts and the labels society uses to represent those concepts, is akin to concept development. Therefore, vocabulary development can be facilitated if presented in clusters of related concepts. One approach used to reinforce such basic concept…

Describes how one teacher uses sensory impressionsto stimulate talking, reading, and writing exercises in a first grade classroom. (TO)

The Story Maker is a teaching device that allows children to create stories by choosing options from a set of already-written story segments. This device (1) provides an active language experience that allows children to construct stories easily; (2) demonstrates the consequences of choosing different ways for a story to proceed; (3) avoids the…

The language experience approach to teaching beginning reading uses a child's own language and experiences as the basis for the first reading material or lessons. The approach integrates the language arts skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The steps suggested for a teacher to follow in utilizing this approach are: (1) oral…

This article criticizes the use of translation from English into French as a method of teaching French, and proposes alternative methods, including a variation on the language experience approach. (CLK)

Information is given in this booklet on how to implement a language experience approach to reading readiness instruction in the kindergarten based on the experiences of teachers in the Burrillville Reading Observes Necessary Communication Objectives and Skills (BRONCOS) project, a Right to Read program in Burrillville, Rhode Island. An…

A turn-of-the-century printing press motivates elementary students to write. Children write, edit, and print their own stories on the Greenwood School Press. This self-supporting enterprise introduces children to various aspects of writing and producing literature. (DF)