The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the research literature relating to the acquisition of literacy. Its focus is on empirical studies that identify the processes underlying the acquisition of literacy, and the instructional strategies that are most effective in developing effective literacy. Its specific focus is on the…

Preservice teachers often have knowledge of the latest and best educational practice and need opportunities to apply theory in a "real world" setting through optimal field placements. A review of the literature on the relationship of the preservice teacher and the cooperating teacher revealed that while serving as a cooperating teacher…

This publication investigates what happened when a Chicago public school first-grade teacher radically changed her teaching practice and embraced a holistic literary approach. The practice of shifting patterns of control in the classroom and the construction of knowledge in a setting where most children are bilingual is explored. The nine chapters…

Pointing out that understanding, considering, preparing, modeling, teaching, collaborating, assessing, and supporting are steps along the path to using literature in the classroom, the essays in this book provide a solid background for those teachers who are considering making the transition to literature-based instruction in their classrooms.…

Reviews a study that used a collaborative action research model to explore ways to integrate music authentically into the curriculum of a particular whole-language first-grade classroom. Presents a more differentiated definition of integration, identifying five types: topical, associated skills, conceptual, higher-level thinking, and pedagogical.…

The 13 essays in this book examine the theory of constructivism in relation to teaching and learning. The first section provides an account of the epistemological, psychological, and sociocultural research that serves as the theoretical basis of constructivism, and includes the following chapters: "Introduction: Aspects of Constructivism" (Ernst…

Four issues of the newsletter of the Elementary Education Interest Section (EEIS) of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) are presented in this document. Issue number 1 of volume 15, focussed on defining "who we are," describes the nature and purposes of EEIS and contains brief accounts by parents, students, and…

Through the analysis of qualitative data from journals, interviews, class reflection, and classroom dialogue, two language arts methods instructors traced the effects of their college methods courses on student teachers and first year teachers. They investigated the students' willingness to use strategies they had tried and seen demonstrated in…

Maintaining the balance between theory and application of the 1978 edition, this book's second edition keeps up with changes in the reading curriculum by adding chapters on text structure, metacognition, and home background not found in the first edition. Chapter titles are: (1) "The Role of Research in Reading Instruction" (Wayne Otto); (2) "Home…

This paper describes the development of a course that would improve instruction for preservice teachers and for elementary school students through "real world" integration of reading and the related processes of listening, speaking, and writing. "Integrated Language Arts Instruction in the Elementary School" is presented as a model for field-based…

The 43 manuscripts presented in this collection represent qualitative and quantitative studies, as well as papers that present literacy research, theory, and pedagogy. Papers in the collection include: "Family Uses of Literacy: A Critical Voice" (D. Madigan); "Intergenerational Literacy: Impact on the Development of the Storybook Reading Behaviors…

This workbook, one of six professional development manuals for adult education (AE) teachers, explores instructional methodologies to promote student success, the theories behind them, and their applications in the self-paced, open-entry/open-exit AE classroom. The pretest and posttest appear first. Each of the seven units begins with a list of…

Developed as the basic text for preservice teachers in an elementary reading methods course, this book aims to develop insightful teachers empowered to make logical reflective decisions about reading instruction. The book is an integrative text, based on the assumption that effective teachers of reading must understand both what to do during…

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…

Examined teachers' beliefs on what constitutes developmentally appropriate literacy instruction. Three teachers were interviewed, observed during planning and instruction time, and asked to reflect on their beliefs and practicing. Through practice, they came to believe that appropriate literacy instruction involves a variety of instructional…