Vocabulary knowledge is important because it is highly correlated with content area learning. Strategies for vocabulary instruction recommend using new words in multiple contexts as key to learning. To date, the term "multiple contexts" emphasizes written contexts, not three-dimensional concrete material contexts. This article describes the…

This mixed-method study examined the effects of a school/university induction partnership on the instructional practices of two groups of beginning teachers in early elementary classrooms. Additionally, it investigated the types of support provided to beginning teachers and determined their retention rates after one year in the profession. The…

Investigated the relationship between the goals of the AmericaReads program for K-3 students and tutors' adherence to these goals by examining artifacts from the tutoring sessions, including audiotapes, interviews with supervisors, and questionnaires completed by tutors. Found an inconsistent fidelity to tutoring expectations, which was explained…

Compared the longitudinal effects of phonics and whole-language instruction on kindergartners' reading and writing task performance over one year. Found that the whole-language group made more progress in reading and writing, and with more developmental coherence, than the phonics group. (JPB)

Compared the effects of constructivist instruction and instruction based on texts and demonstration on third-graders' conceptualization of force. Found that constructivist instruction was more effective. Patterns of reasoning related to force were identified in levels of conceptualization. (JPB)

Compared reading, writing, and mathematics achievement of Title I and non-Title I third graders in comparable multiage and single-age classrooms in three school districts. Found higher achievement among non-Title I students in multiage settings when compared to those in a single-age setting. No setting differences were observed for Title I…

Details the strategies used by one Chinese immigrant child learning English as a second language as he became an active participant in literacy events in his first-grade classroom. Notes the boy's participation in journal writing and writer's workshop, the initial difficulties he faced, and the role of teacher and parents in overcoming these…

Investigated the characteristics of early childhood education teachers who both state a belief in developmentally appropriate practices and engage in these practices in their classrooms. Found that beliefs were strongly correlated with practice, and were related to high personal teaching efficacy and internal locus of control, academic background,…

Examined developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and effects of teachers' DAP beliefs/practices on first graders' social skills and academic achievement. Found that students taught by teachers with developmentally inappropriate beliefs had higher language achievement than others. Students whose teachers' practices were neither appropriate nor…

Used an attribution theory perspective to investigate types of feedback statements used by third-grade teachers during mathematics instruction. Created and tested a coding scheme by which attribution feedback was identified. Determined that teachers rarely provide students with attributionally informative feedback. (JPB)

Analyzed first, second, and third graders' invented games for type, complexity, and rule knowledge; compared game-rule knowledge to classroom-rule knowledge. Found two types of rules: conduct and procedural, indicating children perceive need for rules that tell how to play and that specify appropriate behavior (conduct rules resembled classroom…

Researchers long have sought a connection between play and literacy behaviors. Most agree that play is a basis for developing literacy skills. This study investigated the use of block play in a first-grade classroom. Results showed that the students increased the number of literacy behaviors after having been exposed to the enriched block-play…

Explored images that young children construct of literacy in their lives, both inside and outside of school. Analysis of the drawings of 48 children in grades 1-3 revealed a shift in the children's images of themselves in relation to literacy with each grade level. The influence of home and family on literacy behaviors was also noted. (Author/TJQ)

Observed writing strategies of two students in a primary, self-contained special education class using a whole language philosophy. Found that students showed concern for meaning and conventions and that they used metacognitive strategies, such as rereading or prior knowledge; external sources of help, including dictionaries or teacher assistance;…

Used participant observation, child interviews, and teacher meetings to examine reading strategies that emerged in a first-grade, multiethnic, urban classroom over 20 weeks. Found that children used five reading strategies, including narrative storytelling, relying on memory, and word-for-word reading; tensions emerged between strategies that…