Describes how the authors have facilitated student-led literature discussions in their second- and third-grade classrooms. Outlines the basic organizational structure that fosters response-driven conversations about books. Illustrates the various ways students speak meaningfully with each other about the literature (including inferential…

Considers two CD-Rom narratives as examples of high quality, interactive multimedia texts currently available. Looks at how verbal and visual texts draw the reader into an interactive response and the extent to which multimedia elements shape the reader's experience of the text. Bases findings loosely on fieldwork involving responses of four…

Discusses what five teachers learned when they engaged in a literature discussion group to discuss children's books to develop themselves as writing teachers. Highlights the three layers of talk (emotional responses, exploring the meaning of the book, and exploring the writer's craft) and the role these play in the learning process. (SR)

Describes a theater in Port-of-Spain developed by a recovered drug user and advertising executive to provide a safe and interesting environment for recovering drug users. Discusses the methods used to engage the participants in learning about theater. Offers a chronological recounting of the class and describes participants' reactions to various…

Reviews 31 collections of children's poetry that help students see the world from a fresh perspective. Notes how they were used in a variety of classrooms and how children responded to them. Organizes the books in terms of: making the ordinary extraordinary; looking at relationships in new ways; new views of the world; and a fresh look at animals.…

Presents media literacy research of eighth-grade students to determine the level of recognizing and understanding visual and nonvisual codes that make up motion-picture stories. Study focused on rhetoric of the film medium: trust, confidence and belief in films among children is very high; if this trust coincides with ignorance of media codes,…

Two studies investigated emotional-display-rule knowledge and its associations with family expressiveness and peer competence. Findings indicated that third graders combined expression regulation with prosocial reasoning, norm-maintenance, and self-protective motives more frequently than kindergartners. Negative expressiveness was related…

The current emphasis on accountability, standards, and assessment is missing one important dimension--connection to a sense of values and beliefs. In California, standards are stifling creativity and flexibility; standard-setting is too politicized; test scores are eclipsing democratic values; and cash rewards won't necessarily improve student…

Examines the use of behavioral strategies in inclusive early childhood education settings, focusing on positive reinforcement. Notes that developmentally appropriate practice does not preclude the use of reinforcement as incentives. Describes different types of reinforcers and answers frequently asked questions about reinforcement strategies.…

Examines a music teacher in a second-grade classroom in order to determine how the instructor taught and how the students learned. Identifies four themes related to the nature of teacher expertise and five themes on student learning. Reports that the teacher understood these issues and utilized the information to change teaching styles. (CMK)

Analyzes the ways in which administrators, teachers, and students in two commercial high schools responded to the educational policies and work subjectivities that were articulated by the dominant faction in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and that resulted from the concern about the lack of manual workers in the country. (CMK)

Analyzes how locus of control affects teachers instructional perceptions, their perceived workload, and their professional satisfaction. Reveals that teachers emphasizing an internal locus of control are satisfied professionally, see teaching as demanding, and positively view their instructional practices; teachers emphasizing an external locus of…

Reflects candidly upon the author's commitment to multicultural education and the resistance she initially encountered from white, female preservice teachers. Relates how the author and her undergraduate students found ways to break the silence and bridge their cultural divide through the use of multicultural children's and adolescent literature,…

Discusses the lack of compassion in biology teachers for laboratory animals as well as their indifference to students' compassion for animals. Teachers see dissection as scientific method, whereas students may see it as cruel. If educators are repeatedly exposed to compassion for all life by students, they will eventually see the need for greater…

Presents a lesson plan that uses experiences and examples from World War II to examine some universal human emotions such as hope and fear. Students use oral histories, film clips, newspaper accounts, literature, and other sources as evidence of the emotional reactions to events preceding and during World War II. (MJP)