This report presents results of a process evaluation of Michigan State bilingual education and migrant education programs. The programs provide counseling and supplemental instruction in reading, mathematics, and communication to 761 bilingual students and 855 migrant students. The process evaluation was accomplished through a questionnaire to all…

A scaling procedure is proposed, based on item response theory (IRT), to fit non-hierarchical test structure as well. The binary scores of a test of English were used for calculating the probabilities of answering each item correctly. The probability matrix was factor analyzed, and the difficulty intervals or estimates corresponding to the factors…

A study examined a unique workplace literacy program designed for college preparation. Factors related to retention were studied in a group of paraprofessional health care workers who were attending the program as a step toward career advancement. The 153 participants were mainly women of minority backgrounds who spoke English fluently but not…

This teaching unit consists of eight folktales from China and Japan, skill-development exercises, and follow-up activities. It is designed for the upper elementary grades (3-6), and is easily adaptable to a broad range of age levels and abilities. It can be used in several curriculum areas, including: (1) social studies on China, Japan or Asia;…

This paper examines the integration of Business Russian into the Russian curriculum at Michigan State University (MSU) and the creation of a capstone sequence of Business Russian courses at the advanced level. The establishment of the basic goals of the school's business language instruction and the needs of the students are discussed. The paper…

"Literacy/Alphabetisation" is the Journal of the Movement for Canadian Literacy. Each issue appears in an English version and a separate French version. This document consists of the four issues comprising Volume 15, with the French issue immediately following the corresponding English issue. Each issue begins with Notes from the Editor…

This manual is part two of a three-part series of materials from a family literacy demonstration project conducted in Philadelphia public schools. It contains materials on 10 themes that were taught over a 7-month period. The activities in each theme are organized into class activities and home activities. The class activities support the adults'…

A study examined the effectiveness of using whole language strategies to increase the reading skills of minority developmental reading students. Subjects were students (mostly at-risk Hispanics) assigned to a higher-level or lower-level college reading course. The treatment period lasted 12 weeks. Classwork varied among the five classes and…

A study identified and analyzed exemplary and effective programs available in Canada for kindergarten students. The broad-based research team included members from faculties of education, boards of education, early childhood education programs, a research consulting firm, child development researchers, and teacher-practitioners. The study began…

This sampler discusses California's English-language arts assessment program and presents examples of middle grades reading assessments, writing assessments, and writing prompts. The first section of the sampler takes an integrated look at the changes which make up the new English-language arts assessment. The second section presents the scoring…

This report describes major activities of the Mid-Atlantic Multifunctional Resource Center (MRC) during 1992-1993. Chapter 1 includes a state by state description of the service area (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia). A description of the MRC and staff and other…

Designed for teachers, students, caregivers, and health professionals who work with children from birth to age 8, this book provides a review of recent research and theories of development and learning in the early childhood years, with an emphasis on implications for effective teaching. Where appropriate, the book takes an Australian perspective,…

Intended for classroom teachers, this book presents classroom practices grounded in theory and focused on process. The first chapter provides the knowledge base that unifies the entire book and lays the foundation for whole language instruction. The second chapter discusses three classrooms that exemplify the whole language classrooms where the…

Instructional conversations (ICs) represent an alternative approach to the instruction of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. It has instructional intent, but appears to be a spontaneous conversation with natural language interactions. Successful ICs depend on identification of a text-specific theme that is significant and tied to…

Seven Chapter 1 elementary schools in the Jefferson Cluster in Portland (Oregon) Public Schools invited children who had completed second grade to a language arts summer school in 1992. As part of the program, parents were also invited to attend eight sessions on strategies and activities that would strengthen their children's language arts…