Discusses changes in textbook publishing, attendance at professional meetings, media coverage, and the response of the "testing community" that demonstrate that whole language has become the agenda of education. Discusses the transactional view of writing, social/personal views of learning, teachers redefining themselves and their relations to…

Argues that teachers can help students develop writing competence by stressing social aspects of language and learning. Describes the mutual teacher-student negotiation observed in two elementary schools. Shows that student writing can improve through the creation of a community of children supportive of one another's language efforts. (SG)

Several elementary teachers present school-tested ideas for student assessment and activities for teaching writing. The article describes how one school conducted student assessment using a new checklist system and portfolios. Information is presented on schools that integrated literature, art, life skills, math, and role playing to teach writing.…

Describes whole-language activities (including using predictable books and rewriting of literary and poetic patterns) used for teaching reading and writing in a Kansas middle school. (PRA)

Offers the author's reflections on how and why she adjusted her limited implementation of whole language teaching by integrating literature and writing, using novels that reflect issues of significance to students, having students write for real audiences, and creating democracy in the classroom where students think, discuss, and act critically on…

This article describes the whole-language philosophy of teaching reading and writing and its application to teaching braille reading to blind children. It suggests activities that are effective for enhancing the development of early reading behaviors in children who use braille and that integrate the critical components of literacy learning with…

Guided story invention is a strategy for whole language instruction. The strategy stimulates construction of story and storylike passages, and incorporates: (1) student knowledge of story structure; (2) the reading and writing of meaningful text; (3) a focus on meaning as a function of teacher coaching; and (4) encouragement of self-monitoring of…

This four-document collection describes the implementation processes of dramatically improved literacy programs in elementary schools which are leading the move to restructure literacy education in the Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington). The first document in the collection, "Strategies for Improving School-Wide…

Describes one morning's reading and writing activities in a first grade classroom to provide an example of how one whole literacy teacher mediates children's learning. (MG)

Observes low socioeconomic-level learners during literacy instruction for two years. Finds similarities in learner concern about accuracy. Notes that cross-curricular differences centered on applications of phonics knowledge, responses to literature, coping strategies, and learner perceptions of themselves as readers and writers. Finds a…

Outlines the potential for using whole language for remediation of reading disabilities. Criticizes current approaches to remediation. Discusses six principles of whole language instruction that are effective for remediation. Describes four whole-language programs that have successfully remediated students. Suggests alternative assessment…

At the Arkansas School for the Deaf, high school students use electronic mail to correspond with friends in other places, including those met on electronic bulletin boards. Uses of electronic mail are addressed in the context of whole-language instruction. Specific networks appropriate for children, including KendallNet (linking schools for the…

Fourteen holistic, meaning-based reading and writing activities appropriate for students with learning disabilities are described, along with the theoretical background of the paradigm. As children experiment, approximate, and discover language naturally and socially, their immersion in authentic spoken and written language facilitates learning to…

This article describes the process approach to writing instruction, examining the literature-based approach to reading and the whole-language learning approach. In whole-language classrooms, reading, writing, listening, and thinking are interwoven. The article offers ways for parents to support such approaches at home and school. (SM)

Describes a summer school English-as-a-Second-Language classroom that uses a content-rich whole language curriculum. Highlights experiences that were successful in facilitating literacy development, including reading experiences, writing experiences, talking and reading, and talking and writing. Discusses the effectiveness of the instructional…