Reviews recent research findings concerning the benefits of Readers Theater for building oral reading accuracy and fluency and identifies key guidelines for instructional implementation. Presents recommendations and conclusions that place the focus on guidelines for classroom teachers who might want to experiment with Readers Theater as they work…

Explores the effectiveness of using television and video to motivate student writing. Describes how, following a series of motivational and brainstorming sessions using television, video, and popular literature, 23 fifth-grade students wrote and videotaped dramatizations of short "teaser" scripts in cooperative groups. Notes that these were potent…

Considers how many educators believe that teaching an integrated curriculum should help students develop cross-curricular connections. Notes that students often do not make connections between subject areas even when they are in classrooms with integrated units. Presents a strategy called Brain Surfing that teachers can use to facilitate…

Notes that many students in general education classrooms exhibit problematic behavior at some point during their academic careers. Suggests that these students often have special learning needs. Considers how using thematic units for reading and language arts instruction can improve these students' reading skills and help students with problematic…

Considers how collaborative classroom research among a group of elementary and middle school teachers provides insight into the effective use of the Three Level Guide, a tool for interacting with specific text or information while teaching students how to interact or construct understanding on three different cognitive levels: literal,…

Examines how the role of questions in literacy instruction has always been strong, whether requiring answers involving rote memory or the activation of higher level critical thinking processes. Presents a six-step strategy for questioning followed by a field-tested group of fifth graders' responses to each step. (SC)

Notes that all teachers must be prepared to meet the varying educational, social, and emotional needs of all children. Concludes that to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students, the educational system must be transformed so that all students have an equal chance to succeed. (SC)

Compares a traditional basal approach with a guided reading approach. Demonstrates that the fundamental difference between the two approaches lies in pitching instruction to the child's literacy level and the need for dynamic grouping of children for instruction. Gives a Vygotskian perspective of the transactions that occur between the teacher and…

Notes that teachers need to demonstrate a love of reading in order to pass it on to their students. Discusses ways to encourage a love of reading through book groups, reading goals, daily oral and silent reading, and sharing the impact of reading with students. (SC)

Argues that quality children's books represent effective and accessible avenues for inviting children to explore issues related to older adults and the aging process. Discusses and lists such books and offers suggestions for related activities. (NH)

Describes a project conducted by a classroom teacher to examine the effects of children's literature on students' existing attitudes and beliefs toward environmental issues. Outlines instructional procedures used in a unit for sixth grade science students who reexamined their beliefs about endangered species. Describes assessment procedures and…

Relates how parody is useful with third-grade children. Shows how children composed personal and meaningful stories based on selected literature. Compares parody and other writing strategies. Defines the parody process, including listening to literature stories, examining picture books, peer editing, and learning language. Includes comments from…

Describes a system used for introducing expository text structure to upper elementary and middle school students through the use of narrative picture books. Includes graphic organizers for expository text patterns, forms for expository discourse, and lists of narrative picture books and of nonfiction magazine articles according to their expository…

Describes strategies that research indicates caregivers use while reading books with young children: strategies that simplify or extend book language; prosody; and management strategies so the book reading event is meaningful for children. Suggests how teachers can use these same strategies in preschool settings to plan meaningful book sharing.…

Provides a theoretical framework for designing a children's literature course that requires preservice teachers to critically analyze literature in ways that are personally meaningful. Suggests how preservice teachers can read children's literature intensively rather than extensively. (PA)