Describes several language experience activities involving sports to create meaningful and motivating learning experiences for primary students. Urges educators to provide activities based on students' interests to provide frameworks for the integration of reading, writing, and learning. (MG)

Teaching practices in Italy, where teachers combine three different methods for teaching reading, may provide insight into ways to improve methodologies in the United States. The first method is the natural method, which, unlike American methods, teaches reading and writing simultaneously with the emphasis on writing. The teacher writes as…

Children can acquire written language skills and abilities through the natural process by which they acquire oral language. If as infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, children are exposed to rich print environments, they transfer assumptions from experiences with oral dialogue to the more focused situations of print. Discrepancies in the ease with…

The Language Experience Approach (LEA) creates reading materials and writing opportunities through integrated use of the learner's language and experience. Individualized LEA involving a "dictation" approach (child dictates experience; teacher records and reads back experience) is beneficial for hearing-impaired students in terms of increased…

Discusses the Language Experience Approach and process writing, two methods which approach reading and writing as active processes, stressing communication and meaning. Asserts that these methods are compatible and shows how they can be combined and incorporated into kindergarten and primary level classes. (MM)

Intended for the language arts teacher, this book focuses on how to develop children's language skills. The opening chapter of the book presents a brief overview of child language acquisition, children's language abilities at a particular age, and how these abilities develop. The second chapter, on the importance of children's literature, is based…

Considers approaches to English-as-a-second-language instruction that utilize or encourage the use of story-telling to help participants share and grow, and use language, beyond the limits of pre-set, traditional curriculum. (Author/CB)

Describes a six-step technique that capitalizes on children's experiences and interests while providing structure and redundancy within a creative framework to maximize sight word acquisition. (FL)

The use of the language experience approach to teach readiness and beginning reading and writing skills in preschool programs is explored. The value of this holistic approach is illustrated with a case study of a preschool child with a severe expressive language delay and phonological disorder. (DB)

This paper uses examples of the writing of profoundly hearing-impaired high school students and transcripts of teacher-student dialog to illustrate the evolution of thought in student writing. The development of a language arts curriculum that permitted students to explore, expand, and experience literary events is also described. (JDD)

Describes the "Global Method" of Celestin Freinet, a French educator whose teaching methods (similar to language experience, writing process approach, and whole language) are used by teachers in Europe. Offers excerpts of Freinet's ideas on democratic pedagogy, having children write their own books, teaching writing, moral civic…

Certain settings and activities can be initiated in the classroom to encourage reluctant writers to write. The classroom environment should be structured so that writing efforts produce positive reinforcement. Sharing ideas with peers or the teacher prior to writing will enable students to feel that their ideas are worthwhile. Children can be…

Focusing on writing as a language process, this booklet describes a framework for writing instruction that has as a major consideration the totality of language. The first section discusses writing as a language process, emphasizing that as children learn to write, they can also learn to listen, speak, and read. The second section focuses on the…

Revision, an essential component of the writing process, encompasses two basic elements: rewriting the content to assure clarity, and editing the draft to eliminate mechanical and grammatical errors. It is important for teachers to plan lessons directed specifically toward helping children make more sense of their messages. This document presents…

Applicable to kindergarten through grade 12, the individualized Language Arts composition program is based upon actual student experiences. Once student writing samples have been plotted on a diagnostic grid, the program's manual provides teachers with specific methods for meeting students' needs. Uniting cognitive, affective, and creative…