Intended to help teachers decide which books to start with when incorporating children's literature into the reading program and to show them how to use these books with a variety of readers, this book provides a rationale and guidance for using "real books" to teach reading. Titles and authors of the articles included are as follows: (1)…

Teachers must make sure that the right book gets to the right child at the right time in order to develop positive reading habits. However, once a book is selected, students should be encouraged to think about what they are reading and use the story to evaluate and enrich their personal knowledge. Two classroom programs that use the whole language…

Sixty-eight kindergarten teachers (from a town in Austria) who had previously labeled selected students in their classes as either aggressive or socially competent completed a questionnaire and were observed in their classroom interactions. The questionnaire yielded biographical and sociographical data of the teachers, assessed teacher attitudes,…

The Carpinteria school district in California has developed a model preschool program to bring Spanish-dominant preschool children up to a level of readiness for school that compares favorably with that of English-speaking children in the same community. That goal is achieved by developing skills in four major areas: Spanish language, cognition,…

Through Japanses comic strips (called "manga" in Japanese) students can gain an appreciation not only for the different sensibilities of the Japanese but for similarities as well. One unit consists of an essay, a comic strip, frame by frame explanations, and questions for discussion. In total, there are nine units because odd numbers are…

The Minneapolis public elementary school program in Spanish is described. It was established in 1974 as a FLES program in kindergarten and first grade, later established as part of a fundamental school alternative, and recently expanded to a partial immersion program. Children ideally follow the program from kindergarten through sixth grade. A…

The Natural Approach to second language instruction has theoretical flaws and tends to reverse teaching methods that have been used successfully for many years. The approach exaggerates the presumed failure of previous language programs and ignores some important characteristics of children's language learning processes. It assumes that explicit…

A French language program used in a Montessori school with children in preschool through junior high grades is described. The program provides language instruction in the classroom by a French specialist as well as separate French classes, a compromise between immersion and the Montessori methodology. The children are able to work independently…

Addressed to policymakers and to all the citizens of Illinois, this report of the Plan of Action for Children Task Force offers 81 recommendations for addressing the serious problems faced by children residing in the state. Taken together, the recommendations lead to six conclusions: (1) focus on prevention; (2) commit resources to strengthen…

Compiled for early childhood educators, this list of resources for multicultural education provides a total of 153 entries in the categories of readings for teachers, curriculum materials, nonprint media, children's books, resource bibliographies and catalogues, Canadian periodicals, and resource agencies. Brief annotations accompany most entries.…

Written for teachers to use with migrant children in elementary grades and to highlight the many Americas, this bilingual English/Spanish social studies resource booklet provides historical and cultural information on Bolivia. A table of contents indicates the language--Spanish or English--in which the topics are written. The quarterly provides an…

The manual for professionals working with multi-problem families was developed by Project IINTACT which provided home-based services to families with young children who were developmentally delayed or at risk of developmental delay. Three groups of high risk families were served: those in which one or more parents is mentally retarded, those…

Focusing on literature and the teaching of literature, this monograph presents and discusses salient issues, inviting the reader to participate in the dialogue. The first section following the introduction presents reasons for teaching literature and discusses the types, quality, and selection of literature, as well as literature and values. The…

This study tested the hypothesis that there is no significant difference in reading achievement among children in grades 2 through 5 related to family structure. Researchers administered the Stanford Achievement Test to 119 students in an Alabama city suburban school system. Of the sample, 69 children lived in intact families and 50 lived in…

Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Amendments of 1986, reauthorizes the discretionary programs of the Education of the Handicapped Act, provides incentives to states to serve an estimated additional 70,000 handicapped 3- to 6-year-olds and creates a new discretionary program to address the special needs of handicapped infants and…