In this article, the authors share findings from a study in which immigrant students responded to the wordless text "The Arrival" in small-group, bilingual literature discussions. The interpretive processes of two of the children with different ethnic backgrounds, levels of English proficiency, and styles of response are highlighted as exemplary…

The Family Backpack Project provided 249 low-income, prekindergarten children and their families with opportunities to read and listen to audio recordings of 3 sets of books in their homes. Families received English or dual-language texts (English plus Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, or Somali) matched to their home languages. Children and their…

Generative thinking is explored in this article by chronicling the development of middle school English language learners' poetry writing through their interaction with visual art. The author explains how art conversations (Reilly & Cohen, 2008) were used to help students engage in dialogue about the topic of journeys and how students' paintings…

During the 2004-05 school year, Parkview Elementary School experienced a dramatic shift from a focus on authentic assessment and responsive, individualized teaching to a one-size-fits-all approach to literacy assessment and instruction. In an effort to boost test scores, the district mandated the use of Open Court Reading, a scripted language arts…

Using a case study approach, the authors describe how a teacher used the tools of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) to teach her fifth grade English Language Learners how to use academic language to challenge school policies regarding recess. In reflecting on these data, we discuss the potential of SFL to support teachers in responding to…

Writing is difficult for students who are learning English, as they often struggle to express what they really want to say. Writing is difficult for their teachers, too, who often struggle to respond in ways that are helpful. In this article, the authors offer an approach that looks at students' writing from a functional linguistics perspective,…

The Teaching/Learning Centers (TLC) model is based on the assumption that the best foundation for meaningful, sustained, and transformative professional development is laid when teachers assess the particular needs for their school site, plan and implement professional development background. It is concluded that the TLC model of professional…

Suggests six changes in the teaching of foreign languages in the elementary school (FLES), among them increased attention to cultural understanding and the integration of FLES into the language arts program. (DD)

Suggests that children learning English as a second language will profit more from interaction in meaningful situations with native speakers of English than from separate language instruction with other nonnative learners. (DD)

Relates the shared whole language experiences of a native college student majoring in education and a third-grade Korean student who was learning English, concluding that both learned from the experiencing-writing-reading activities. (DD)

Examines British education in which students who have not learned to read in infant (primary) school are given "remedial" instruction, arguing that these students are not "remedial" but rather are learning language for the first time. Recommends teaching based on the similarities between remedial instruction and second language…

A kindergarten teacher recounts her experiences with a southeast Asian student as he progresses with the English language. The "beautiful book," in which the boy would illustrate words and dictate appropriate stories for the teacher to transcribe, was instrumental in the boy's language acquisition. (HTH)

This article examines the lives of four multilingual students, their classmates, and teacher as they use a range of semiotic systems to learn from, with, and about each other and their surrounding social worlds. Research reveals how literacy practices not only built on students' resources but also invited critique and change. (Contains 5 figures.)

Presents an overview of third-grade bilingual students and their literacy curriculum. Discusses a series of instructional lessons ("strategy wall charts") developed to provide the students with various tools to work their way through literacy blocks as they read and wrote in English. Looks at patterns of internalization that occurred when the…

Nonbilingual teachers of Spanish-speaking students can become more effective through cultural understanding and respect, learning to speak Spanish, team teaching, using bilingual teacher aides, involving parents, and peer teaching. (DD)