Circle time is a near universally used preschool activity; however, little research has explored its nature, content, and quality. This study examined activity types, teacher and child talk, child engagement, and classroom quality in a sample of public preschool classrooms in an urban, high-poverty school district. Results demonstrated that…

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

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)

A study investigated whether activities could be designed to elicit seven specific language functions in kindergartners: self-maintaining, directing, reporting, towards logical reasoning, predicting, projecting, and imagining. Language functions were not equally elicited by all activities, but changing activity was effective in varying language…

Describes a class project involving collaborative partnerships in which fifth graders wrote books for first graders. (HTH)

Presents a method and rationale for enhancing verbal learning in a typical reading-language arts lesson through personal and group generated images and associations. (FL)

Notes that jump rope rhymes and street chants are part of an oral tradition that links communication and play. Although rarely incorporated into the elementary curriculum, they expose children to rhyme, rhythm, humor, and poetry. Discusses opportunities for student involvement and integration of rhymes and chants across the curriculum, and…

Reviews caregiver communication behaviors that have been described in the child language literature as facilitating language learning and use. Strategies for engaging and sustaining interactions with young children are presented. Accompanying scripts provide examples of early childhood educators interacting with children during play and daily…

Discusses sample lessons incorporating captioned TV that have been found useful in English-as-a-Second-Language classes. Argues that captioned television is a dynamic supplemental teaching aid that an imaginative teacher can embellish with various before-, during-, and after-viewing activities. (Six references) (CK)

Educational psychologists and researchers attest to the importance of play in learning, but studies indicate that children are playing less, and often less effectively, justifying the need for play within the school curriculum. The area of language arts is a natural place for imaginative play. One elementary school project incorporated playing,…

This series, designed for use in inservice teacher workshops, addresses the question, "How do children and teachers use language to get things done?" The transcribed classroom discourse presented and discussed in each volume illustrates functional language in a real context based on the videotaping of undoctored classroom events from…

Teaching within the context of individuality, desire, and emotion means that teachers must have an understanding of various cultures, the languages children speak, and the strengths the children possess. This second edition of the text "Teaching Culturally Disadvantaged in the Elementary School" is more inclusive of minority groups, moves into the…

Discusses the need to start second-language learning in the primary grades and the budget constraints impeding implementation of early second-language education. The article advocates using the young children themselves to persuade school administrators and parents to support the teaching of second-language courses in the primary grades. (CK)

The Even Start Family Literacy Program was established in 1989 to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy for low-income families, by improving the literacy skills of parents and their young children. Even Start projects offer family literacy services, defined as four integrated instructional components: (1) Childhood Education (ECE); (2)…

Several features distinguish this textbook which was designed for an elementary language arts program: each chapter is introduced with a set of objectives and performance responses; chapters provide numerous examples of both exploratory and systematic instruction; the special role of literature as a tool as well as a content subject is recognized;…