Whole language reading education is a constructivist view of learning with particular emphasis on the development of literacy. Constructivism asserts that human beings develop concepts through their own intellectual interactions and actions with the world. In whole language reading classrooms acceptance of learners means that the whole language…

This Ready--Set--Read Kit includes an activity guide for caregivers, a 1997-98 early childhood activity calendar, and an early childhood growth chart. The activity guide presents activities and ideas that caregivers (family child care providers and the teachers, staff, and volunteers in child development programs) can use to help young children…

This publication reports on the fall 1997 conference of the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL). It provides an account of the keynote sessions and concurrent sessions, a bibliography of published works related to each session, and summaries of other portions of the conference. The keynote sessions included: (1)…

FUNdamentals puts the "FUN" back in learning for all age groups. FUNdamentals is an intensive, systematic phonics learn-to-read program that helps improve comprehension, spelling, and penmanship. It is designed for use by every age group. Formulated for use with learners from preschool through adult ages, FUNdamentals is the key to…

This paper describes the Reading Enhancement Across Disciplines (READ) workshops at Brookdale Community College, New Jersey. The READ workshops focus on practical strategies for faculty across the disciplines to use in order to enhance the level of students' interaction with both written and oral discourse. The author of this report argues that…

This book provides elementary teachers with ways to use focused observation to help plan thoughtful, effective instruction and curriculum for their students. The recommended strategies can be implemented in a variety of situations, grade levels, and teaching environments. Three chapters present stories related to: getting along in the classroom…

This video is one of a four-part series which is designed to introduce teachers and parents to standards and teaching in a standards-based environment, and aims to help teachers and parents understand how teaching with standards can change classrooms, work assignments, and student performance. This video focuses on classrooms where the teachers…

Research in school districts throughout the United States shows that children who use "Breakthrough to Literacy" achieve significant and lasting improvement in their reading skills. At virtually every site studied where implementation criteria were met, children who participated in "Breakthrough" demonstrated marked increases…

This issue of the quarterly publication focuses on Fostering Success in School and Beyond for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders. Editorial introduction notes that today's K-12 educators must effectively work with increasingly diverse populations in their classrooms, including educating students identified as having emotional/behavioral…

This Winter 2005 issue of "Learners in Action" contains the following: (1) Proud Dad Turns Family Life Around (Nick Prince); (2) Learners Make a Great Impression at Conference; (3) The Story behind the Story; and (4) Learner Resources.

The purpose of this research report was to analyze the effectiveness and attitudes of students in grades six through eight who are enrolled in a balanced literacy program. There were 188 students enrolled in the program ranging in ages from 11 to 17. Twenty percent of the students in the program have been retained at least once. The program…

Most struggling readers, including those with reading disabilities, have difficulties recognizing printed words. This unique, lucidly written book synthesizes the research on how children learn to read words skillfully and translates it into step-by-step strategies for the classroom. The author demonstrates how to plan and implement a coordinated…

The inner world of education is explored through the examination of different types of educational materials. Content analysis and symbolic interactionism are used to study educational and pedagogical communication. These approaches are used in four studies of educational texts. Chapter 1, "Study of Educational Texts," introduces the…

Increasingly, foreign nationals living in Japan are sending their children to Japanese elementary schools. This requires that the children's native language be taught outside of school, most often at home. While teaching oral language is not difficult for parents, teaching reading requires different skills. Some difficulties in this process are…

Making a case for the value of literature-based instruction, this book presents an overview of the extensive knowledge base supporting literature-based approaches to literacy instruction. It notes that literature-based instruction goes beyond simply changing the kinds of texts children read--also required in literature-based instruction are an…