This module presents a 3-hour workshop in whole language theory and practice to be used for inservice training of a small group of tutors or teachers of adult reading students. Suggested group size is 6-15 people. Part I explores the background and concepts of whole language from the point of view of the psycholinguistic model of the reading…

A formative evaluation was conducted during the first year of a whole language literacy project at Sir William Osler High School, Ontario, Canada, which serves students who have been diagnosed as functioning below grade level. Interviews were conducted to collect descriptive information from the six Osler staff members involved in the project, the…

A formative evaluation was conducted during the first year of a whole language literacy project at Maplewood High School, Ontario, Canada, which serves students who have been diagnosed as functioning below grade level. Interviews were conducted to collect descriptive information from the five Maplewood staff members involved in the project, the…

A study evaluated a teacher development model that provides teachers with peer support and techniques for fostering active reading strategies in inner-city reading disabled adolescents using Collaborative Strategy Instruction. Subjects were 13 pairs of teachers in 9 middle, junior high, or senior high schools who taught reading comprehension to…

A study investigated the development of theme as five fifth-grade students read children's literature, recorded their responses in logs, and discussed their ideas in small, student-led peer groups. The five students met together as one group over the course of 5 weeks as they read historical fiction focused on Japan during World War II. Data…

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans offers practical suggestions to help elementary school students discover the fun involved in becoming and being literate. The 40 lesson plans in the book are divided into sections entitled "Classroom Reading Strategies and…

This packet of seven research-based articles on school improvement summarizes research on educating urban minority youth, discusses discipline and monitoring student progress, and describes four programs for improving elementary school mathematics and reading instruction. "Educating Urban Minority Youth: Research on Effective Practices"…

A Language Experience Approach (LEA) to reading is based on the premise that a child's thinking naturally leads to talking, writing, and eventually reading. Information technologies offer powerful support for learning, but teachers and parents must learn to use these technologies effectively. Three types of computer applications that are…

Elementary preservice teachers (n=185) in a blocked program of methods courses developed integrated thematic units focusing on social studies and science that viewed reading, language arts, and mathematics as tools students use to study the major content areas in the elementary school program: social studies and science. This was a complex task…

A program was designed to improve the reading skills of the second grade at-risk students in a suburban K-6 elementary school located northwest of Chicago, Illinois. The second grade at-risk students could not read fluently at the conclusion of the academic school year, and consequently did not exhibit strong reading comprehension skills. A…

An experiment using music activities in the classroom to teach English-as-a-Second-Language reading to limited-English-proficient elementary school students is described, focusing on the teacher's discovery process as well as the students' progress. The students were 23 native Spanish-speaking first-graders in a self-contained bilingual education…

Based on years of classroom observation, this book presents the thesis that powerful, critical, active, productive literacy can be achieved systematically, and regularly, with large numbers of the school population, if the principles currently known as the whole language approach are applied. The book is based on the assumptions that learning to…

A collection of articles on adult literacy education includes essays, letters, poetry, interviews, research reports, and discussions of issues in literacy and adult basic education in both developing and developed countries. The first section contains brief articles about programs and initiatives in developing countries, including Madagascar,…

This packet contains the four quarterly newsletters published by the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit in England in 1988. The Winter issue contains the following articles: "Staff Accreditation"; "Afraid to Fail"; "Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Libraries: Potentials Realised"; and "Literacy Work with Local Employers." The Spring issue…

Materials appropriate for workforce literacy programs, defined as literacy efforts that include basic, interpersonal, and decision-making skills, are described and presented. It is noted that workforce literacy projects should include materials actually used on the job, which build on students' prior knowledge and work experience, and customize…