Addresses ways in which children's literature promotes mathematical communication. Describes the natural connections between mathematics and children's literature. Provides a list of resources for teacher use. Describes classroom experiences and activities in which literature is a springboard for children's mathematical communication. (SR)

Describes how using the Hispanic tale "La Llorona" can help teachers connect cross-culturally with their students for enhanced literacy instruction. Describes ways "La Llorona" may be used in courses for preservice education majors and in elementary and middle-grade classes. Includes an annotated list of seven printed versions of "La Llorona." (SR)

Recommends Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) in grades 2-12 to improve students' reading and to teach them to love to read. Outlines rules for SSR, and offers notes to the teacher on its implementation. (SR)

Describes in detail using three interactive teaching strategies that actively engage students in meaning construction and in developing comprehension strategies (K-W-L Plus, Directed Listening-Thinking Activity, and Discussion Web), with primary-grade readers, using three excellent children's books. (SR)

Presents brief annotations of 30 trade books published in 2000 for children and adolescents chosen by teachers and librarians across the nation as outstanding books that are exceptional in curriculum use. Groups books into primary, intermediate, and advanced levels and notes suggestions for curriculum use. (SR)

Explores what purposes literature circles serve for students and why they are positive components of literacy instruction. Discusses why literature circles are important, group size, texts to use, how students prepare for literature circles, and how to make adjustments for struggling readers. Includes a 13-item list of resources. (SR)

Describes a year long literacy improvement project in two third-grade classrooms that focused on struggling readers. Describes small-group reading instruction in the classrooms that focused on 3 components: rereading familiar texts; shared and guided reading, incorporating strategy use in decoding unfamiliar words; and shared and guided writing.…

Argues that, especially in the intermediate grades, keying into students' personal interests is a powerful motivator for learning. Illustrates this with the story of a formerly excellent student who became disillusioned with school in fifth grade, becoming resistant and disruptive. Describes how a project approach to reading and writing that…

Describes how, through parent-student interactions in written homework assignments, the author (in her predominantly Hispanic American sixth-grade classroom) has successfully engaged parents in the literacy development of their children, brought parent voices into the classroom, and affirmed and appreciated the experiences, culture, and language…

Describes the "Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project" which has now sent more than 70 volunteer teacher educators into 20 countries across Central Europe and Central Asia to help teachers to try out methods that foster active learning and critical thinking. Discusses support for the project, teaching strategies introduced, and the…

Compares and critiques two models of invented spelling stages, arguing that knowledge of stages of invented spelling can lead to better assessment of children and more informed literacy instruction by offering a window into the learner's mind. Notes that good communication with parents about invented spelling can eliminate much of the controversy.…

Offers brief descriptions of 41 good books for children offering a treasury of memory, memoir, and stories. Presents books in the following categories: storytellers, folktales, voices, family, artifacts, and preservation. (SR)

Provides an overview of the development of a new Writing Attitude Survey, for use with groups or individuals, to learn about grade 1-12 students' attitudes toward writing. Offers directions for using the survey, suggestions for application in classrooms and research studies, and a reproducible copy of the survey with a scoring sheet. (SR)

Uses the example of a 12-year-old nonreader to review fundamental principles essential to teaching seriously disabled preadolescent nonreaders. Argues that teachers must begin with an acute awareness of how students feel; accurately access strengths and weaknesses; find starting points that will guarantee initial success; be clear about time…

Describes the "story face," an adaptation of story mapping that provides a visual framework for understanding, identifying, and remembering elements in narrative text. Discusses several strengths of the story face strategy used with students in grades 1-5: easy to construct, easy to remember, can guide retelling, is collaboratively learned through…