Current research increasingly highlights the role of early literacy in young children's development--and informs practices and policies that promote success among diverse learners. This handbook presents cutting-edge knowledge on all aspects of literacy learning in the early years. Volume 2 provides additional perspectives on important topics…

In this 10th grade social studies and language arts interdisciplinary unit, students research and report on historical figures from the turn of the 20th century. Students are required to work in pairs to learn about famous and common individuals, including Andrew Carnegie, Samuel Gompers, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt, Booker…

As teachers encounter a wider variety of children and families than ever before, dealing with all the differences can be demanding. This book provides a collection of 45 readings reflecting the strong, continuing current of thoughtful work on teaching young children in a diverse society to help teachers and prospective teachers respond to the…

This book contains booktalks for 170 titles that appeal to middle school readers and relate to middle school curriculum. Approximately 90% of the books are fiction. Each entry includes author, title, publisher, date of publication, suggested interest level, suggested reading level, the booktalk, and learning extension ideas. The selections are…

This paper reviews what current research says about best practices in reading instruction for students with mild mental retardation. After introducing some key reading issues (such as effects of early reading failure), two principal approaches to reading instruction are discussed: first, the traditional/bottom-up synthetic approach which begins…

This action research compilation contains two research projects: "Increasing Student Appreciation of Poetry through the Use of Contemporary Music" by Paul G. Senjem and "Are Men and Women Created Equal? Gender in the Classroom" by Jennifer Joyce Plitzuweit. The researcher/author of the first paper states that his goal was to…

From earliest infancy, a typically developing child imitates or mirrors the facial expressions, postures and gestures, and emotional behavior of others. Where does this capacity come from, and what function does it serve? What happens when imitation is impaired? Synthesizing cutting-edge research emerging from a range of disciplines, this…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a law that was passed by Congress, with strong support from both political parties. It is a somewhat complex law about federal support for education from kindergarten through 12th-grade (K-12). But the law's purposes are simple: to ensure that all children in the United States receive a high quality education and to…

This book describes the concept of mastery learning in the classroom and the various foundations upon which it is built. Five chapters discuss: (1) "Understanding Mastery Learning" (e.g., the learning/memory base, the measurement base, theoretical bases, and the brain base); (2) "Examining the Standards: Math, Science, Social Studies, and English…

Louisiana is transforming public education with the "Reaching for Results" reform initiative. "Reaching for Results" includes higher standards for what students should know and be able to do, school and district accountability, increased resources for schools and students, and a new testing program, including the Graduation…

This paper on meeting the needs of students with disabilities who are learning English as a second language suggests integrating principles from the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Standards and Data Based Instruction (DBI). The power of combining intentional language teaching with an action research process is illustrated…

This study examined reasons for the recent wave of immigration to the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, area, interviewing Hmong, Somalis, Russians, and Hispanics/Latinos who were born outside of the United States. Interviews examined reasons for leaving the native land, what immigrants found when they arrived, and how they coped and adapted. Most…

Community service is excellent for students if done in proper circumstances. There should be worthwhile, carefully chosen, objectives for learner attainment. Learning opportunities need to be safe and emphasize the psychology of education. Noting that he has supervised student teachers in the public schools for 30 years, the author of this paper…

This teacher's guide and student workbook are part of a series of content-centered supplementary curriculum packages of alternative methods and activities designed to help secondary students who have disabilities and those with diverse learning needs succeed in the regular education content courses. The content of Parallel Alternative Strategies…

This study examined the experiences of participants in a basic writing course in a Midwestern community college. Two-thirds of the 18 students were highly educated students from Russia, Turkey, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan who were retirees, spouses of Americans, spouses of international students at the local university, or spouses of foreign…