This study describes the interactions of three adult-child reading partnerships in a program that matches corporate volunteers with "at risk" students for weekly hour-long story reading sessions. Using discourse analysis within a sociocultural framework, the researcher identified variation in the way these partners were constructing the act and…

Weekly poetry fests, using poetry throughout the curriculum, and giving children a sense of the tremendous variety of poetry are discussed as methods for helping children appreciate poetry. (HTH)

Two first-grade teachers and a university researcher study children's inquiry-oriented responses to literature to better understand how children's experiences during read-alouds (and in related, later conversations) help them enlist others in their efforts to make sense of race. The authors argue teachers should be making spaces for children's…

Describes the inspiration, planning, and implementation of the Poetry Project, a nine-week unit designed to immerse first and second grade children in the reading and writing of poetry. Notes that the project helped the students bring together oral and written language. (RS)

Describes some of the discussions and writing that first grade children engaged in as the result of their exposure to literature read aloud. (HTH)

Demonstrates how peer interaction during writing helps children experience connections between reading and writing. Describes children's responses to unfinished pieces, a peer's "published" piece, other students' published books (read aloud by a student other than the author), and to books written by professional authors. (HTH)

Discusses the measurable benefits in reading improvement, language skills, listening skills, and access to material beyond present skills that children receive from teachers reading aloud. Includes guidelines for successfully reading aloud in the classroom and a brief bibliography of sources of good books to read aloud. (HTH)

Illustrates the importance of rereading a story to children several times, enabling them to grasp its significance and meaning. (HTH)

Describes the modification in one kindergarten class of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) to Sustained Loud Reading (SLR). Describes children's excited interactions with and sharing of books. (SR)

Describes a read-aloud program, "Language to Literacy," now used in several Texas school districts. Describes how language charts are used to record ideas from stories, help recall other stories, and notice similarities and differences among stories. (MG)

Describes how elementary school teachers encouraged poor readers and writers by having them--and the whole class--keep journals on topics they knew more about than anyone else in the class and then read the entries aloud. Discusses a three-step process approach to writing instruction derived from this successful method. (HTH)