Drawing from social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), an experiment was carried out to determine the extent to which children's attitudes towards bullying could be moderated by in-group norms and perceived threat to group distinctiveness. The study investigated the responses of 120 male primary school students aged 10-13 years from five…

This paper explores a narrative approach to diversity in teacher education. One story is presented, initially without context; as layers of context are added additional possible readings of the story are suggested. A second story is contrasted with the first by using a three-dimensional space--temporal, interactional and in-place--to provide…

The relationship between second language learning and meaningful interactions is now well recognised in second language acquisition research. While English is a widely taught foreign language around the world, much of the interaction research comes from core-English countries, which are also the major producers of English language teaching (ELT)…

Some Grade 4 educators have expressed feelings of ineptitude regarding the support of ESL (English Second Language) learners with limited English proficiency as they do not know how to support these learners effectively. Their litany emphasises ESL educators' need for supportive and preventive intervention. A story-based Language Enrichment…

Children often become deeply immersed in stories. Just as often, however, they may resist reading, or reading certain types of texts. The authors present a typology of six ways in which young children resist stories. Though educators may be inclined to view such opposition as a roadblock to understanding, children's resistance may be the occasion…

The Florida Library Youth Program is an extension of the Florida Summer Library Program. Many libraries have wanted to provide programs for school-age children at times other than the traditional summer vacation, and this guide responds to their needs. The theme, "Once Upon a Tale," focuses on folklore, stories, and storytelling. The…

A study examined a reading strategy--story retelling--to determine whether it would enhance comprehension, vocabulary, and develop a sense of competency in students who lacked reading strategies. Subjects of the study were 10 learning disabled children, ages 12-14. The study was conducted over an 8-week period. Two samples were created using…

Conducted as part of the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the "NAEP Reader" study was designed to compare the performance of students who were allowed to select a story with the performance of those who were assigned a story. One nationally representative sample of students at each grade was allowed to choose a…

This paper presents findings from a longitudinal study of reading comprehension development that reveal that there is a negative relation between the amount of time kindergarten teachers spend reading to kindergarten children and the children's reading achievement. The amount of time first-grade teachers spent reading to their students was…

Many librarians would like to provide a reading club which includes not only reading patrons, but pre-reading or read-to-me patrons and those parents, family members and caregivers that care for, work with and read to them. To help library staff and volunteers organize, implement and manage a read-to-me club, this planning handbook is intended to…

A study examined the effects of adult-interactive behaviors during repeated storybook readings upon the language development and selected prereading skills of prekindergarten at-risk students. A total of 53 inner city, low socioeconomic status subjects participated in the 20-week study. Subjects were dichotomized at the median on a measure of…

A three-part exploratory study was conducted to examine children's responses to interactive, nonlinear HyperCard stories and the children's design of stories in HyperCard. Twenty-three fifth graders took part in a semester-long language arts training program that included HyperCard as well as traditional stories in books. Two questions were posed:…

Children who are not encouraged to read at home are less likely to be successful in reading later. Parents who were unsuccessful in school or who were not read to themselves are less likely to read to their own children and may need direction in how and what to read. Parents can be taught how to talk through a story with their children through…

The usefulness of various forms of folk literature as grammatical, literary, historical, and cultural sources in foreign language teaching is discussed and guidelines are suggested for classroom implementation. Although the focus is on folk or fairy tales, folk literature is defined to encompass myths, local legends, saints' legends, children's…

Talking and listening form the foundation for the development of reading and writing in this informal classroom curriculum. (CS)