Describes how some student teachers and cooperating teachers guided pupils in learning phonics through a study of rhyming poetry. Discusses class activities involved in teaching couplets, triplets, imagery in poetry, quatrains, alliteration, limericks, and onomatopoeia, and the rhyme and phonics elements involved. (SR)

Argues that children's points of view shape knowledge in the classroom and are central to the development of children's writing and learning. Finds points of view by referring to examples of talk and writing; explains how cultural and personal factors come into play; and proposes that points of view become an explicit aspect of instruction,…

Describes how poetry and teaching poetry is a way to pay attention to the world, to feel connected to other people--a conduit to each student's truest discoveries, offering solace and courage and wisdom and survival. (SR)

Describes the picture book rendition of the operatic story "Aida" (based on the opera composed by G. Verdi) as retold by opera diva Leontyne Price. Describes how this picture book is appropriate for introducing adolescent readers to opera. Describes specific activities for music classes, musical resources, specific art activities, and…

Outlines principles for assessments that are supportive of teaching and learning, and discusses qualities that such assessments must have in order to be useful for reporting information to the public. Introduces a language-arts assessment (the Elementary Literacy Profiles) designed to embody these principles and qualities so that it will be…

Describes and discusses various attempts made by a student teacher to improve the discussions in her English classroom. Describes how she used structured discussions, learned from chaotic discussions, and facilitated discussion through a mock trial. Notes progress in facilitating discussions that were on task and that incorporated students'…

Describes the trial and error process over a three-year period in which a group of English teachers developed district-level content and performance standards for writing. Describes workshops which led to action research teams. Argues they did three things right: invented their own standards, shared the inventions with colleagues, and learned to…

Presents annotations of 30 notable children's books in all genres (published in 1996). Includes suggestions of experiences, activities, and related literature for each work of literature. (RS)

Sets a discussion of how masculine identities are negotiated in school within a larger discussion of the relationship between pleasure, bliss, and the language arts. Concludes with three lessons learned: (1) openness solves certain problems, even as it creates others; (2) bodies and texts are different; and (3) interpretation and power matter. (SR)

Compared performance on language arts tests for students who were or were not permitted to discuss the story they were required to read and interpret. Results for approximately 5,000 10th graders show that a 10-minute discussion of the story in three-person groups had a substantial impact on students? understanding of the story. (SLD)

Reviews three sometimes overlapping versions of educational reform: the professionalization of teachers; over-regulation of teachers' work; and the deregulation of schooling. Argues that over-regulation and deregulation often work together as part of a larger market-oriented strategy for educational reform that seeks to limit the professional…

Presents an interview with Chris Crutcher, the 2000 recipient of the Margaret A. Early Award. Notes that he was given the award for his contributions to writing for teenagers. Talks about his life and origins as a writer, and his early influences as a writer in terms of style. Discusses the use of Crutcher's literature in the classroom. (SG)

Draws on Milton's "Paradise Lost" and on motifs found within Gnostic mythology and the poetry of William Blake to explore how Philip Pullman reworks the Judeo-Christian myth of the Fall in his trilogy, "His Dark Materials." Finds at its center "Dust": a conventional metaphor for human physicality in which good and evil, and spirit and matter…

Explains a major new book award, the Michael L. Printz Award honoring the best young adult book. Discusses the first prize-winning book: "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers, and three honor books. Discusses how these books are unusual and outstanding examples of young adult literature--structurally sophisticated with memorable characters who deal with…

Describes a discussion format called Collaborative Reasoning, part of a literature-based reading program in which students discuss a central question about a story they have read. Discusses the background of Collaborative Reasoning, its discussion framework, and instructional moves that support the development of reasoning. Notes the high rate of…