An intervention project sought to lower the grade retention rates of kindergarten, first-, and second-grade students in one New Jersey school district. During three school years, 1987-1990, the retention rate was 7 percent of the total population of these grades. An exploration of causes identified several possible factors, including: (1) lack of…

This collection of 29 succinct information articles discusses issues relating to language arts, including whole language, phonics, student evaluation, spelling, and censorship. Some of the authors contributing to the collection are Ken Goodman, Yetta Goodman, Jerome Harste, Patrick Shannon, and Constance Weaver. Titles of articles are:…

A study analyzed teacher and student perceptions of a literature-based reading/writing curriculum for at-risk high school students. Eighteen students, (3 girls, 15 boys) ranging in age from 15 to 18 years, began English 9, a redesigned one-semester literature-based make-up course for students who failed ninth-grade English. Prior to the study, the…

A study compared the writing development and ideas about writing of students in a whole language program with students in a skills-oriented program from the time they entered kindergarten to the end of the second grade. Subjects were 22 inner city students who completed second grade out of an original kindergarten cohort of 50 minority students…

A practicum aimed to reduce overreliance on the basal reading program in grade 1 of the elementary school. It also endeavored to provide teachers with quality choices to enhance and enrich their reading/writing programs. Five workshops were designed to meet the specific needs of a public school district located on the northeastern seaboard which…

A longitudinal study, involving five beginning teachers, revolved around questions about how teachers' own emerging theories of literacy instruction are shaped by their interactions with other theories and perspectives and through their own work with students who are learning to read, write, and understand text in schools. Trained in the whole…

A case study showed how a third-year teacher modified the socialized culture of literature-based literacy instruction she found in her second-grade classroom and teacher education program to reach particular children who were having difficulty learning to read and write. Aaron, the subject of the case study, was a second-grade African-American…

The basic assumption of this book is that reading and writing in school should be natural and enjoyable for children, and its ideas are based on the Piagetian theory that knowledge is constructed by each individual and the psycholinguistic view that learning takes place best when viewed as holistic and when instructional materials for children are…

It is proposed that through the use of whole language techniques, an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher can incorporate holistic language situations into the ESL classroom and advance the student's acquisition of a second language. Whole language techniques such as spontaneous conversation, brainstorming with semantic maps, dialogue…

Reading instruction for the middle school disabled reader must vary from the way it has been taught in the student's past. Experiences using theme reading, poetry, scavenger hunt instruction cards, newspapers, and trade materials which form complete thought units prevent the reading task from becoming the isolated skills instruction of the past.…

Because so many elementary schools are employing whole language instruction, it is essential that graduates from university elementary education programs be prepared to teach in this way. Twenty-five junior and senior elementary education majors enrolled in a block program of 3 courses: reading methods, language arts methods, and a field practicum…

A practicum addressed the problem of lack of fluency of learning-disabled and low-achieving students (N=24) retained in the first grade by using predictable books written in a natural manner emphasizing the children's natural language. Two evaluation procedures from the Reading Miscue Inventory were used to determine the degree to which students…

One of the greatest advantages of teaching first graders to read and write using a whole literacy approach is the flexibility the method provides for meeting the needs of each individual learner. Children use their dictated language as the text and work within small groups. Children can join any group working at an appropriate level or work…

This newsletter issue focuses entirely on classroom instruction in adult basic education (ABE) and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs. The first article, "Whole Language and Adult Literacy Education" (Kazemek), describes 10 principles of holistic language education and how they may be translated into actual classroom practice.…

This book is a collection of articles originally printed in "Language Arts," the membership journal of the elementary section of the National Council of Teachers of English. The book responds to the thousands of teachers looking for ways to incorporate student-centered, collaborative learning strategies into their classrooms. The…