A whole language philosophy can guide the use of computers to enhance the teaching of composition and provide cautions against their misuse. A whole language classroom is student-centered. When computers are introduced into a classroom, the technology tends to draw attention to itself, making the machine the center of the lessons, forcing students…

The creative writing process, like any writing process, begins with a prewriting activity. Story starters are one such activity which teachers can use to begin the creative writing process with their students. For example, large cartoon-like characters made on an opaque projector can be used to initiate discussion. The second step requires a…

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…

Offers suggestions to incorporate holistic reading and writing activities into existing curricula and classroom structure to create a print-rich environment in which children use reading and writing in meaningful ways. (MG)

Serving as a guide for teachers interested in implementing a whole language philosophy within their classrooms and as a resource for teachers who have whole language classrooms, this annotated bibliography presents thorough annotations of 12 selected texts published between 1979 and 1992 encouragement and support for the whole language philosophy.…

Emergent and beginning readers demonstrate many predictable behaviors in the kindergarten classroom, yet every child is making sense out of print in his or her own way. The job of the kindergarten teacher is to help each child to continue developing as a reader and writer. Reading and writing materials are accessible and usable throughout a…

This booklet presents a qualitative evaluation of the Simi Star Project, which sought to demonstrate the use of a Writing to Read adaptation that supports a literature-based, whole language, writing process environment within kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. After a description of the questions that the evaluation asked, the booklet…

An ethnographic study described a successful educational environment for students from low-income families and examined what it is about those environments that makes them successful. The subject class was a combined fourth and fifth grade class at Taft Elementary School in a predominantly African American working class community two miles from…

Critical whole language practice, like any other pedagogy, is enacted within a particular time and place. We present several features of critical whole language practice (as distinguished from two other variants of critical education: critical literacy and critical pedagogy) and illustrate each with examples from one year in one elementary school…

Combining developmentally appropriate early childhood practice with current views of emergent literacy and whole language instruction, this book is designed to help pre-service and in-service teachers incorporate new views of literacy into their classrooms. The book includes extensive examples from actual classrooms to assist readers in…

A case study showed how a third-year teacher modified the socialized culture of literature-based literacy instruction she found in her second-grade classroom and teacher education program to reach particular children who were having difficulty learning to read and write. Aaron, the subject of the case study, was a second-grade African-American…

The basic assumption of this book is that reading and writing in school should be natural and enjoyable for children, and its ideas are based on the Piagetian theory that knowledge is constructed by each individual and the psycholinguistic view that learning takes place best when viewed as holistic and when instructional materials for children are…

Focuses on the oral language that accompanies the writing process of Native American students. Finds that of all the oral language observed during composing, 90 percent of that language was related to the fact that writing was taking place. (MG)

This book explains the whole language philosophy of learning to read and how it can be applied in special education classrooms to assist students with learning disabilities. Chapters address: (1) an overview of the whole language approach; (2) examples of how special education teachers use whole language to teach children with learning…