Describes the "ALERT" procedure, whereby teachers may combine the language experience approach with the use of radio, television, newspaper, and magazine advertisements in a strategy that is useful for developing critical thinking skills, even in very young students. (ARH)

Arguing that reading and writing in school should be natural and enjoyable for children, this book is 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 authentic and purposeful. The…

Reviews current theories of language teaching and learning. Considers thinking and problem solving as the impetus to linguistic growth and change. Encourages teachers to devise genuine problem solving tasks for young children that begin by observing/examining and end in expression through writing. (RL)

Arguing that students should be encouraged frequently to listen, to speak, to read, and to write in all areas of the curriculum and to begin asking the questions that reveal the dependence that exists between various bodies of knowledge, this book is based on the whole-language theory. The book is designed not only to help students learn such…