Describes how three schools applied "Writing to Read," a computerized writing and reading program, in kindergarten and first grade. (HOD)

Offers four suggestions for creating a classroom with a suportive, stimulating, and language-conducive environment. (HOD)

Offers suggestions to teachers confronted with preschoolers who have had minimal exposure to other cultures outside their home and know little or no English, based on findings from the 1982 Sexsmith ESL Demonstration Preschool Project in Vancouver, British Columbia. (HOD)

Contrasts a child not ready for school with a child who is developmentally prepared to enter school and argues that if all school systems could administer and interpret the results of a developmental examination, the number of unhappy children, special needs children, and grade overplaced children would be greatly reduced. (HOD)

Describes reading materials for gifted children ages birth to nine years that correspond to the following characteristics of the gifted: vocabulary, curiosity, sensitivity, beauty, and humor. HOD)

Argues that by introducing young children to books that portray parents in positive images, teachers can provide a source from which children can view the world positively. Includes suggestions for selecting books that portray parents. (HOD)

Describes the modern family fable that places an overemphasis on material possessions, prestige and success, leaving children feeling like possessions of little worth because there is a vacuum where children seek depth and commitment to form their own values and beliefs. (HOD)

Explains how offering children "library time" during the first 15 minutes of the school day can provide the teacher time to take care of other class management tasks. (HOD)

Reviews research findings that suggest a teacher cannot assume that social and/or concrete rewards always yield positive effects upon learning. (HOD)

Presents a thematic overview of this issue, which focuses on teachers as active decision-makers who are responsible for children's learning. It is noted that teachers can become active decision makers (even with curriculum mandates) in their understanding and view of the importance of child development, curriculum, evaluation, and their continuous…

Maintains that child development knowledge is important in providing a strong basis for teachers' decision-making processes. Discusses how teachers must consider all aspects of development--physical, social/emotional, and intellectual--in making classroom decisions, as well as decisions concerning parental involvement and the use of community…

Focuses on two philosophical views of reading, the traditional ("bottom-up") view and an alternative ("interactive") view, along with the implications they hold for shaping reading instructional programs. The differences these two views make in decisions that shape the reading program are illustrated in a kindergarten and fourth-grade program. (BB)

Describes how one teacher uses an integrative approach in making her day-to-day classroom decisions. A brief overview of the concerns and decisions characterizing this approach is followed by a description of how a third-grade teacher and her students mutually constructed a lesson about Japan. (BB)

Maintains that decisions regarding evaluation should be made in relationship to learning principles based on a developmental perspective. Using these principles as a basis, teachers are better able to select appropriate formal and informal evaluation procedures. Each procedure is defined and its limitations are discussed in terms of effectiveness.…

Maintains that teachers must make decisions about their own professional growth, as well as about classroom involvement. This professional growth may be facilitated by teachers' active exploration of four dimensions of professional competence--curriculum expert, colleague, mentor, and scholar-researcher. (BB)