Describes a whole language approach to teaching reading comprehension using novels, essays, and short stories. Considers the shortcomings of lab classes and reading textbooks; curriculum goals and criteria; the use of ability groupings, testing, and placement; textbook selection; and teaching strategies emphasizing verbal interaction, writing,…

Contends most people in Third World need functional and development-oriented literacy (FDL) if they are to contribute meaningfully to illiteracy eradication and attainment of sustainable national development in respective countries. Arguing current literacy instruction approaches in most Third World countries can't sustain FDL, suggests adoption…

As we strive to help pre-service teachers understand both why and how to teach for social justice, we face the challenge of making whole language teaching less abstract and intangible. Frequently pre-service teachers understand the principles of teaching for social justice but have no sense of how to infuse them into their teaching. They accept…

This book is based on the premise that learning in young children takes place through participation in purposeful activity and the learning process includes building on what children already know and enabling children to take responsibility for their own learning. It focuses not just on recent pedagogical developments in science, but shows,…

Holistic approaches to remedial reading can be effective in promoting the reading growth of poor readers. Learning to read is most effective when it occurs in a context of functional and meaningful literacy activity. In order to create such a context students need to be engaged with real texts in a search for meaning. Repeated readings, taped…

This position paper discusses how the tenets of Whole Language and Deaf Bilingual-Bicultural Education complement each other. It stresses that Whole Language emphasizes a two-way teaching/learning process and Deaf Bilingual-Bicultural Education emphasizes mutual respect in the sociocultural experiences and values of deaf and hearing people.…

First and second grade teachers (n=275) were surveyed concerning their knowledge about and attitudes toward the whole-language approach to reading instruction. Findings suggest that many teachers are not persuaded that the whole-language approach to reading instruction is to be preferred over other methods such as intensive phonics instruction or…

Presents an annotated list of associations, organizations, book publishing companies, children's bookstores, magazines, catalogs, and hot lines that can provide elementary and secondary teachers with more information on the whole-language approach to teaching and learning. (SM)

Presents writing warm-up activities to help elementary students develop and polish their language skills. The warm-up activities focus on detail, descriptive dialog, memory writing, titles, punctuation, and vocabulary enhancement. The activities provide choices, present important ideas, and foster collaboration, responsibility, and trial and error…

The whole language movement evolved partly from a larger political context. Anti-whole language arguments were responses to increased student and teacher empowerment threatening traditional hierarchies and certain characterizations of whole language. By calling whole language a point on the pendular cycle, critics mounted an aggressive campaign in…

This article's fundamental argument is that the reading instruction and reading research have been shaped by political forces desiring to privilege particular approaches to instruction or particular combinations of methodological and epistemological perspectives on research. The swings in both dominant pedagogies and dominant research paradigms…

This digest discusses some of the ways children develop functional phonics knowledge in the context of authentic reading and writing, as well as some of the ways teachers can foster such development. The digest suggests that children develop phonics knowledge by: having familiar stories or poems read to them repeatedly; discussing letter/sound…

This document consists of the six issues of "NCLEnotes", the newsletter of the National Clearinghouse on ESL (English as a Second Language) Literacy Education (an adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse) published during the three-year period 1991-1993. Major articles in these issues include: "Issues in Literacy Education"; "The…

Instructionism refers to educational practices that are teacher-focused, skill-based, product-oriented, non-interactive, and highly prescribed. Constructivism refers to educational practices that are student-focused, meaning-based, process-oriented, interactive, and responsive to student interest. There is disagreement regarding which curricular…

This article identifies the student at risk in reading, defines whole language philosophy, and gives examples of whole language instructional strategies that address the needs of the at-risk reader. These strategies include teacher modeling of reading and writing, student choice of reading materials, providing time to read, and developing thematic…