The Ganado (Arizona) Primary School, located on the Navajo Reservation, instituted a successful English writing project for kindergarten children that illustrated that young children should be allowed and expected to develop as writers because they are capable of real writing. Teachers encouraged children to complete drawings and writings in…

First implemented in 1980, the Ganado Language Arts Development (GLAD) Project is a kindergarten through grade 3 writing program that has published 31 volumes of student writing. Three primary goals guide the project: (1) to develop the foundation for literacy in each of its students, (2) to expand and enrich the pedagogical competencies of each…

Describes a successful English writing program for Navajo kindergarten children in Ganado Primary School (Arizona), which encourages children to draw and write in journals. Indicates that many Navajo students enter school with the capacity to move directly into daily writing and have already formed strong concepts about written language. (MH)