Addresses the United Kingdom government's control both of curriculum and instruction, elementary teachers' loss of their ability to control instructional time, and the effects of school inspections and national testing on teachers' morale. Argues that content standards, instruction, and assessment must be developed by teachers and government…

Revisits the author's efforts to deliberately craft words that surfaced in conversations with others. Reflects on the writing of "What Difference Does Difference Make," which won the author the Emig Award. Emphasizes two qualities of pedagogical storytelling that are critically important when that talk is about "difference." (SG)

Suggests a symposium of teacher researchers represents benefits educators can reap when they take charge of their own professional development, but it also represents barriers they can encounter when they seek to create structures where decisions are negotiated and multiple perspectives heard. Explores these tensions and considers implications.…

Focuses on one elementary school teacher during the Language Arts lessons of her student teaching, and focuses on a single conflict she had with the values of the school. Suggests alternative approaches emphasizing the importance of creating settings that support teachers who wish to teach in ways that their school structures discourage. (SC)

Collects primary pupils' views of themselves as writers and their preferences, attitudes and awareness of the source of their ideas in the context of England's National Literacy Strategy. Underlines the importance of listening to pupils' views about literacy, in order to create a more open dialogue about language and learning, and to negotiate the…

States that in a methods course for elementary education majors, students are asked to keep a notebook to respond to course readings, collect writing starts, reflect on their schooling histories, and collect data from their 10-week field experience in an elementary classroom. Discusses one notebook; presents a sample ethnographic research…

Examines the work of four writers who have influenced the teaching of poetry writing to primary school children. Considers the merits of each, particularly in the context of arguments about "voice" and "form," and links their explicit and implicit philosophies and approaches. Supports "grace,""voice" and "form," and argues that one need not…

Investigates two types of texts (a reading scheme book and a children's literature text) to see how the reader is constructed by the text, and what kind of reading support is offered. Finds that the literary text offers more reading support than the supposedly carefully constructed reading scheme book, which constructs a passive reader to whom…

Examines the rationale behind the British government's method for raising standards in writing at Key Stage 2, noting a renewed drive to teach discreet units of sentence grammar and a fresh commitment to shared and guided writing. Argues that these new measure ignore research on the ways children learn to write and will not lead to a rise in…

Examines how children's written work is enhanced through "teachable" lessons, where the teacher draws attention explicitly to aspects of literary texts and where children explore and evaluate literature through group reading and discussion. Explores the relationship between group evaluations of texts and children's writing development with…

Considers how poor readers at Key Stage 2 need ongoing support for reading development. Notes that they are frequently weak in the metacognitive skills that enable good readers to make their own progress and they require a repetition of much phonics material from Key Stage 1. Charts the development of a phonics booster programme for poor readers…

Explores the educational contexts in which boys and girls make their reading choices. Finds that girls read more and read narrative fiction almost exclusively, while boys read less but in a wider number of genres. Examines the effect that teachers or curriculum have in supporting or challenging gender preferences for reading material selections.…

Outlines findings from a pilot project by the Centre for Research on Literacy and the Media (England) in which primary school pupils adapted a text from a print into a moving image medium (animation). Examines the impact of this translation on pupils' print literacy. Suggests that informed practical use of media can have benefits for the pupils'…

Proposes a curricular framework that provides an alternative view of "balance" in guided reading and literature discussion groups. Suggests several possible scenarios for the future of literature in classroom instruction. Presents a curricular model for a literature-rich classroom. (NH)

Presents two episodes from the reading experience of children in a Year 3 classroom: (1) a guided reading lesson conducted by the teacher; and (2) a group of reading sessions conducted by the researcher. Suggests that where children are given the power to make meaning for themselves, they are more likely to learn to read critically than those who…