Relates the experiences of a tenth grader as she has grown up keeping a journal and what purposes the journal has served. (SRT)

Shares childhood experiences of singing while staying with older relatives. Recounts the feelings of a small child dealing with the death of a favorite aunt. (MG)

Describes four-year-olds' fantasy play, and how their language manifests their imaginations, moods, and personal fears. (HTH)

Discusses the types of revision second-grade students conducted on their writing that, at first, were not obvious to the teacher. These include revision in an individual conference with the teacher and revising by expanding a journal entry. (HTH)

Examines trends in reading instruction, suggesting that some approaches are responsible for children's reading difficulties. Looks at research suggesting ways to bridge the gap between reading experiences that take place in the home and those that occur in school. (HTH)

Examines the linguistic experimentation of children in three different age groups by means of their use of word games. (HTH)

Recalls childhood experiences which influenced the author in becoming a writer and a teacher. Explores the symbolic power humans wield with language, which extends from a single word to a phrase to a whole story. (MG)

Discusses (1) the possibility of children developing meaningful lives, (2) literature as a way of understanding children's lives, and (3) the importance of understanding children's consciousness and how this might be done. (SRT)

Discusses the kinds of things teachers can learn from children if they allow their students the freedom to use their language and their imaginations creatively. (HTH)

Discusses efforts at teaching children in kindergarten how to write, indicating that emergent readers can indeed write with scribbles, random letters, numerals, and sometimes words. Discusses their dictation, journal content, writing stages, and developmental trends. (HTH)

Examines children's progression in the use of humor in language from taking folktales seriously, to using humor for shock, to using humor to alter social environments. (HTH)

Argues that the purpose of school--of language and the language arts--is to empower children as public individuals, to give them tools to express their own visions of the world in the public arena. (RAE)

Presents a historical perspective on child language research, termed "stingy" because of the lack of financial and institutional support. Speaks of the pioneers and present researchers who study child language as men and women of unusual determination and commitment. (HTH)

Presents a variety of social contexts for verbal interaction between adult and child and between children. Discusses the variations in interaction caused by different contexts, as well as features that are consistent across contexts. (HTH)

Presents three basic tenets of the language across the curriculum philosophy: that language develops primarily through its purposeful use, that learning often involves and occurs through talking and writing, and that language use contributes to cognitive development. Discusses important practical implications these principles have for effective…