This study sought to determine how retained first grade students function in a whole language classroom after meeting with failure in a traditional first grade setting. Data collection for the five retained students, plus six "at-risk" students, involved naturalistic observation. Reading began from language experience stories that the students…

This document presents the Project ALERT (Adult Literacy Enhanced & Redefined through Training) Workplace Literacy Project model. It describes each of the seven components of implementation: instructional delivery, staff development, recruitment, incentives, resources, organizational constraints, and union and management relations. Evaluation…

This digest examines changes that are involved in an elementary school library media program when the school's instructional methods move from a basic skills to a whole language approach. These changes are discussed in terms of three curricular foci--theme studies, process writing, and literature-based reading--and new demands that are placed on…

This sourcebook contains articles, resources, and sample teaching materials to assist practitioners implementing developmentally appropriate practices in the classroom. The first six parts of the sourcebook contain reprints of more than 40 journal articles, topical bibliographies and resource lists, and sample teaching materials. The topics of…

Exploring what happened in the classroom as a teacher used a whole language approach with her culturally varied, urban fourth-grade students, this report tells the story of a unit on personal, narrative writing which occurred from April to June. The report describes how the teacher established routines to make the unit work, and how the teacher…

This practicum was designed to allow first graders the opportunity to read and write in a more natural and authentic manner than that permitted by using the basal reading series as the basis for reading instruction. The first grade reading program was transformed from a basal-oriented approach to a whole language approach. Through the use of…

Like so many slogans, "Whole Language" is a dangerous term because its meaning varies with each educator. Whole Language is not a method of teaching, nor is it a program; it is a philosophy or viewpoint. Nine major characteristics of a Whole Language approach as culled from a variety of sources, with most agreed upon by a majority of…

This digest links the development of listening comprehension to the emerging reading comprehension of young American Indian students, and suggests ways that teachers can use locally produced materials to enhance young students' emergent literacy. Reading comprehension is the key to literacy, and prior knowledge supports listening and reading…

Mississippi's guide for instructional planning for the primary grades consists of six units and appended materials. Research principles incorporated into the guide include: (1) a project approach that encourages the study of specific topics; (2) an integrated language program based on use of children's literature for informal and formal…

This text was designed for adult students of English as a Second Language who are reading at approximately an intermediate level. Ten chapters address a variety of topics relating to daily life in the United States, including: travel and transportation; the nuclear and extended family; holiday traditions and customs; the education system; college…

A high percentage of students in a second-grade class with low socioeconomic characteristics demonstrated exceptionally low achievement in social studies. The problem was addressed by the implementation of an interdisciplinary program to increase basic skills in all areas of the curriculum. Activities designed to increase the target group's…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a program to improve the reading/vocabulary skills of an ability-grouped fifth grade class of "low achievers" (N=15) through the implementation of a literature-based whole language approach. Students were read aloud to from quality children's literature. From these books, spelling and vocabulary…

The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the research literature relating to the acquisition of literacy. Its focus is on empirical studies that identify the processes underlying the acquisition of literacy, and the instructional strategies that are most effective in developing effective literacy. Its specific focus is on the…

A 1-year investigation of writing took place in an urban second grade and focused on three low-income African American children with different reading abilities in their third year of whole language instruction. Data collection included written artifacts, structured interviews at the beginning and end of the school year, and field notes. Artifacts…

A discussion of second language (L2) teaching focuses on how language teachers can transfer their training and experience in L2 instruction to instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL). Learners of L2s and of ESL pass through the same learning stages, and while the skills focus may be different, the process is the same. A variety of…