Immigrants currently make up over 12% of the U.S. population, with children of immigrants comprising more than 20% of the population. Consequently, English learners are the fastest growing group in U.S. schools today, accounting for 10.5% of the total public school student population in Pre-K through Grade 12 in 2004-2005, a 56.2% increase over…

Reviews recent research about literacy development, the development of English-language proficiency, and the social, academic, and emotional challenges of entering a new culture. Recommends and describes instructional practices for teaching second-language learners in integrated settings. Focuses on writing, discussion, and scaffolding in the…

Offers a conceptual framework for building language awareness through the reading of poetry, encouraging children to reflect on language in interesting and powerful ways. Provides an instructional model for constructing literature-based experiences in the classroom. (SR)

Reflects on studies by teacher-researchers that show how attending to children's multiple oral discourses informs teachers' understanding of learning and language development. Discusses the school as a site of discourses in contact, ways of talking, appropriating new discourses, exploring different language genres, explicit practice in discussion,…

Research indicates that reading aloud to children significantly improves their vocabulary knowledge and their reading comprehension while affecting reading interests and language development. (DD)

Describes measurement instruments for language development, literature, reading, English as a second language, and writing. (DD)

Discusses language development in children and describes how instructional television programs can contribute to that development. (DD)

A restatement of the theory of reading developed by the author over the years, a defense of a whole-language comprehension-centered approach to teaching, and an attack on the back-to-basics movement. (DD)

Establishes five premises on which language-centered reading is based and makes five recommendations for language-centered reading instruction. (DD)

Uses several anecdotal accounts to illustrate principles of linguistic and cognitive development, and then applies these principles to classroom strategies for teaching reading. (DD)

Reviews research studies, available through the ERIC system, on the interaction of cognitive, social, and language development, drawing implications for language arts instruction. (DD)