Outlines questions for teachers to consider when selecting books which may be challenged. Looks at two different stories of challenges to multicultural education, regarding whether an "outsider" has the right to relate the stories of another culture. Advocates using a wide variety of sources and stories, offering examples on the topic of slavery.…

Describes how one first-grade teacher developed and carried out a parental involvement program in which parents and children engaged in literate activities during the school day with emphasis on combining the strengths of home literacy with school. Notes the success of the program based on the deep caring of these parents (largely low-income and…

Discusses the Pacific Children's Literature Web Project, which uses the Internet as a vehicle for building and sharing the cultures of Guam, Micronesia, and the Pacific. Describes how the website was developed, presents an overview of the site with selected student webpage examples, offers suggestions for developing a website with students, and…

Offers brief descriptions of 38 illustrated children's books that embody the notion of summer days spent traveling, discovering, inquiring, adventuring, or having fun. (SR)

Ponders issue of schools, school prayer, and religion. Shows how a teachable moment can promote moral and societal values without imposing specific views of any particular religion. Argues that religious perspectives can and should be part of the study of art, literature, and history, and that books can be used as literary sources linking religion…

Describes how a teacher and a teacher educator collaborated to extend their thinking regarding effective learning environments and to challenge their own uncertainties through dialog. Discusses four aspects of effective learning environments: creating authentic, meaningful, and personalized curriculum; making visible differences in language and…

Examines how different types of word recognition instruction appeared to affect students with different early literacy foundations. Finds differences in instructional practices to be related to growth in reading. Identifies four classroom practices that seemed to have the greatest success with children entering first grade with minimal reading…

Presents two interviews: one a conversation with illustrator and Caldecott Medal winner Mary Azarian (Illustrator of the 1999 Caldecott Medal book, "Snowflake Bentley"); and a conversation with author Louis Sachar, author of the 1999 Newbery Medal book, "Holes." (SR)

Presents brief descriptions of 36 children's books, all "good books" with the potential to linger in the hearts of readers. Organizes the books into categories: those that withstand the test of time, relate to common experiences, explore family relationships, extend readers' knowledge, inspire readers to follow their dreams, and invite readers…

Describes how the authors introduced and organized small-group literature discussions in a first-grade bilingual class. Discusses the four most frequent types of student responses in discussions: living through the experience; looking closely at text and illustrations; exploring social issues; and making connections (to other books, life…

Argues that music is a powerful way to motivate students to read. Discusses reading picture books made from songs or written by musicians; using music to set the mood; combining poetry with music; and using instruments or sound effects. Lists picture books made from songs or written by musicians, books for mood music, and books with musical…

Argues that integrating the arts in culture and literacy can help children become proficient users of language and be accepting and empathetic toward others, as advocated in standard nine of the "Standards for the English Language Arts." Describes two ways the author integrated the arts into a language arts unit on Japan, dealing with…

Suggests that teachers should provide text that supports students' changing interactions with text as they move from learning about print and how it works, to the labors of learning to decode, and on to growing independence and fluency. Highlights effective uses of simple predictable text, transitional text, decodable text, easy readers, and…

Discusses materials that foster engagement in the learning process for students, teachers, and parents. Looks at three sets of materials helpful for vocabulary and comprehension strategy development: (1) guiding teachers and students through the think-along process for developing reading comprehension; (2) building vocabulary and comprehension at…

Describes a structured yet informal and flexible reading lesson observation framework (representing one district's vision of what an exemplary reading lesson ought to look like in its elementary schools) that can help teachers, principals, and literacy supervisors to work together to enhance quality and consistency of daily reading lessons. (SR)