Suggests way of introducing books to children and lists resources containing ideas for promoting reading. (RH)

Provides lesson plans for stimulating children's oral storytelling in preparation for writing, expanding children's curiosity about computers, and extending children's language and communication skills through classifying and grouping materials from home and school. (RH)

With special emphasis on the implications of research findings, issues related to play and learning in general are examined and related to information about the play of handicapped children. Concluding remarks focus on the issue of whether handicapped children can be helped to optimal development through play. (RH)

A teacher of children with multiple handicaps and the mother of a child in the class describe changes made as they worked together to create a more open and child-centered classroom. (RH)

Describes briefly the integrated elements of a nursery nurse program for 16- to 18-year-old trainees in the United Kingdom. Topics include supervised placements, integration of continuing education with preprofessional work, the student/tutor relationship, and seminars with peers. (RH)

Discusses four concepts considered vital to the development of children's ability to read and understand maps: representation, symbolization, perspective, and scale. Guidelines are offered for map construction activities aligned on a developmental continuum ranging from concrete to abstract and intended for children up to third grade. (RH)

Describes the "Folk Tales through Shadow Theater" reading-enrichment program unit, in which fifth-grade students search for stories, write scripts, and stage and present plays to an audience of their schoolmates. (RH)

Points out the value of a favorable music curriculum for children two to eight years of age, advocating an emphasis on and providing guidelines for programs in vocal development, instrumental skills, and music appreciation in early childhood curricula. (RH)

Describes successful classroom strategies for improving the reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills of a fourth grader with poor communication skills development. Practices include sustained silent reading, exposure to "real" literature, reading aloud, purposeful listening, and writing with a purpose. Guidelines for teachers are…

Points out stages in writing-skill development as well as ways children's writing can be stimulated at home and in school. Topics include: encouraging new vocabulary and development of spoken language; reading to the child and stimulating involvement and response; being an example by writing in the presence of children; and providing opportunities…

Briefly reviews the history of the first kindergarten system in the United States on the occasion of the transformation of the Des Peres School in St. Louis, Missouri, into a museum and library. The transformed facility contains a restored kindergarten classroom, the Susan E. Blow museum, local historical and educational archives, and meeting…

Identifies curricular areas that, in the view of the Association for Childhood Education International, should be addressed in a preparation program for teachers of children from birth through the eighth year. (RH)

Reviews research focusing on teacher influence on student academic outcomes. Findings on both sides of the issue are discussed; reasons for the indeterminancy of findings are specified; and relationships between presage, context, process, and product classroom variables are discussed. (RH)

Highlights the 1982 International Colloquy of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education, which was entitled "The Right to Be a Child." Children's basic needs were seen as the rights to food, to play, and to peace. (RH)