Discussion of Russian folktales suggests a structured approach to introducing the characters, settings, and motifs in an elementary classroom. Highlights include beginner-level texts; connections to Russian culture; writing connections; activities; and an annotated bibliography of 32 titles. (LRW)

Explores the intersection of poet William Stafford, the poet in each child, and poetry. Discusses influences of Stafford on the author during her academic training and subsequent academic career. Notes Stafford left behind a vision of the world, a way of thinking about the process of writing, and a respect for the writer that is each child as…

Conceptual models of giftedness that cannot explain the full spectrum of depicted behaviors are incomplete. The same is true for frameworks that purport to analyze those behaviors. Within giftedness, extraordinary and rare talents afford us the opportunity to extend and modify models and frameworks. This article presents an analysis of the first 2…

By the time they reach preschool or kindergarten, young children are already writers. They don't have much experience, but they're filled with stories to tell and ideas to express--they want to show the world what they know and see. All they need is a nurturing teacher to recognize the writer at work within them. Taking an exciting, new approach…

Trickster tales, with their teachings on how to behave in the world, are a powerful means for transmitting social knowledge and cultural mores to children. In this study we compared two approaches to teaching fourth-grade students to write trickster tales. Although both instructional methods incorporated aspects of the writing process approach,…

A study explored the effect of different kinds of music on children's writing content. Nineteen students from a second grade class in Charlottesville, Virginia, participated in 10 15-minute writing sessions, accompanied in each session by one type of background music (classical, jazz, popular, or country) or by silence. All writing was analyzed…

This collection of three "Childhood Stories," includes some of the stories used as part of the "Story Train" program, an elementary literacy program that offers students the opportunity to be published either on the Internet or on a cable television show also called "Story Train." The tales in the collection, written…

This book provides the important support needed to ensure that preschoolers become confident, competent writers. The reader will get a detailed picture of early learners' writing development; learn to identify and build the knowledge and skills preschoolers need to understand how print works; and find out how to provide the appropriate setting,…

One of the techniques a teacher uses to enable her students to write poems is to use a story as a springboard. Her students read the story of "The Emperor and the Kite" (Yolen, 1991), which tells about Djeow Sew, the daughter of an ancient Chinese emperor. After students engaged in brainstorming the story, they drew Djeow Sew at the…

Chronicles a research project that collected and examined first-grade children's writing over a year. Develops a system for classifying the children's genres that has two major groups: writing about actions/events; and writing about objects/things. Describes emergent genres of writing from the children, looking beyond spelling. Cites active roles…

Examines relations between different word categories and reading/writing performances in 20 nine-year-old children. States that for Norwegian (less regular than Finnish but more regular than English), the length and frequency of words and their interaction are factors substantially related to children's reading, writing speed, and spelling…

Presents a collection of letters, poems, and artwork by children in response to the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Tells how students throughout the United States picked up their pens, pencils, crayons, markers, and paintbrushes, and attempted to make sense of this most incomprehensible act. (SG)

Presents journal entries written by one child in kindergarten through fourth grade that demonstrates her changing understanding about spelling. Suggests what type of instruction might nudge her along in learning. Concludes that teachers must analyze individuals to best meet their needs and that a daily journal offers a perfect opportunity to…

Examined manuscript letter writing skills of students in Grades 1-3. Three letter characteristics, grade, and alphabet fluency each made a significant contribution to the prediction of letter legibility after effects of other predictors were controlled. Letter legibility in turn made a significant contribution to the prediction of text legibility…

This article begins with a rationale for using "great" poems with children and the justification for linking the reading and writing of poetry. First, the author provides tips for teachers to use when selecting adult poems and offers a brief bibliography of classic poetry collections and anthologies appropriate for children. Next, suggestions for…