Research into identification of gifted early childhood students of minority groups through classroom activities is lacking. A focus in the United States on students with learning challenges and a lack of awareness of educators concerning the needs of early childhood gifted students are important causes of this situation. The current case study…

Nonfiction stories of animal compassion were used in this literacy-social studies integrated lesson to address both efferent and aesthetic stances in transmediation of text from picture books to maps. Preservice early childhood and elementary teachers chose places from the nine recent children's stories, symbolizing them on a map while…

This descriptive study explored teachers' outreach to families in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade, and its relations to children's early growth in language, literacy, and mathematics. Teachers (n = 62) completed surveys reporting the frequency of outreach practices to families, and children's (n = 210) early academic skills…

In this article, written primarily for early childhood educators of young children who are learning English as another language, the authors discuss the use and educational benefits of Interactive Writing, an approach to beginning writing instruction appropriate for kindergarten and first grade children.

"Strong Start K-2" is a social-emotional learning curriculum, designed for use with children in kindergarten through grade 2. The objectives of this study were twofold. First, authors aimed to evaluate the feasibility and quality of "Strong Start" implementation. Additionally authors examined the effect of "Strong Start" on first grade students'…

This study investigated the effect of a social and emotional learning skills curriculum, the "You Can Do It! Early Childhood Education Program" (YCDI), on the social-emotional development, well-being, and academic achievement of 99 preparatory and grade 1 students attending a Catholic school in Melbourne, Australia. One preparatory and one grade 1…

Today's children are often separated from the natural world, developing fear and aversion to wild creatures. This humane education program used curriculum-blended science lessons that focused on eight generally disliked animals: bat, skunk, snake, mouse, spider, centipede, cockroach, and mosquito. First and second grade students participated in 6…

The benefits of drama have been reported extensively in educational research literature; however, few studies provide an in-depth analysis of how drama is used in early childhood classroom instruction for readers who struggle with comprehension. The focus of this study is: How do young children build literary understanding through drama? This…

This article presents picture books that are considered as a sample of children's literature selections on war, terrorism, and natural disasters for pre-K to 3rd-grade children which were chosen with both young children and their teachers and parents in mind. The authors recommend these books to be used as read-alouds, so that caring adults who…

The purpose of this study was to replicate previous research about teachers' perceived benefits of home visits to determine if they remained stable. Furthermore, the investigation sought to find out whether home visits impacted variables often associated with improved school success (i.e., school attendance, academic performance, parent…

This study involved the development, implementation, and assessment of a comprehensive schoolwide mailing program as a practical tool to communicate enthusiasm towards writing to children and actively engage them in letter writing. The author played the dual role of teacher-researcher and worked for one school year with one teacher from each grade…

In this article, the authors begin with what they believe is an implicit endorsement of an integration orientation toward acculturation. Literature may be used to help students understand the implicit nature of culture. Inspired by such scholars as Clayton (1996, 2003) and based on a content analysis of 134 books, the authors identify and describe…

This study examines the multiplicity of literacies while incorporating multiple modes of meaning to understand a young trilingual child's meaning-making processes. This qualitative study reports the results of a combination of ethnographic observations and a longitudinal case study of one child's multi-literacy development from birth to…

This study aims to describe how the learning study model can be used to improve lesson design and children's learning outcomes by enabling them to perceive and define the critical aspects of the object of learning, guided by variation theory. Three lesson designs were used with three groups of children (A = 24, B = 13, C = 14) from two…

This study characterized the social network roles and peer relationship features of early elementary school-age children from kindergarten to 2nd grade. Children were asked to identify who they liked and did not like to play with and peer groups who played together from their classroom. Consistent with the literature, we found similar patterns for…