Presents a model of literacy based on five habits of effective reading teachers. Explains the rationale and theory that supports: (1) the importance of choice; (2) teaching for continuous progress; (3) curriculum integration; (4) individual conferencing, and (5) child-centered, child-directed activities. (NH)

Claims one way to provide students with a powerful literacy is to structure an educational environment in which language is all encompassing. Describes the literacy program at Emerson Elementary Magnet School (Westerville, Ohio) as one such program. (NH)

Surveys parents, students, teachers, and administrators in one Ohio school district about Senate Bill 55, which prohibits promoting to fifth grade any fourth grade student who fails the fourth grade proficiency test. Argues that legislators determined what is best for students without educators' input, and that the public still has a lot to learn…

Claims the data from the Ohio Proficiency Test is rich but hard to use. Describes a process for analyzing the data to make it more manageable. Provides suggestions for using the results to make data-driven decisions. (NH)

Presents guidelines for integrating picture books and novels into the social studies curriculum as a way to (1) provide students access to their literary heritage; and (2) provide a meaningful way for students to experience social studies. (NH)

Describes how the introduction of information books into a first grade classroom led a "traditional" teacher to provide students with a wider variety of literary experiences and allow students the opportunity for more active involvement in books. Notes that the classroom evolved into a child-centered environment where each child reads and writes…

Supports Classroom Publishing (a bookmaking project) as a useful literacy tool which (1) encourages children to develop creative and expressive skills; (2) allows students to write for an audience outside the classroom; (3) makes the sometime tedious writing process more meaningful; and (4) produces a product to be admired by family, teachers and…

Profiles the accomplishments of Brandon Marie Miller, an Ohio writer of children's non-fiction historical literature. Discusses her writing processes and why she writes non-fiction rather than popular historical fiction. Appends annotations of 3 of her works. (NH)

Reports on a partnership program between a small rural Ohio elementary school and the College of Education at Ohio University that provided a holistic integration of university classes and field experiences with a whole language focus in the elementary school setting. (NH)

Supports "The Ohio Literacy Initiative" (a document the Ohio Department of Education developed as a resource for districts interested in designing and implementing an effective, comprehensive literacy framework) as it calls for community efforts to help districts attain and support confident and articulate readers and writers. (NH)

Presents a classic of reading research, originally published in this journal in October 1972: a study on miscue analysis and the importance of qualitative analysis of miscues. Shows how such qualitative analysis contributes substantially to thinking about the reading process, how a reader constructs meaning, and the assessment of a reader's…

Presents remarks from a distinguished educator regarding educational philosophy, reader response, and how to teach children's literature. (SR)

Describes the development and implementation of a professional development program extending through the school year to help teachers prepare for the state's upcoming portfolio mandate. Describes a powerful collaborative model of professional development that recognizes the value inherent in the shared learning that occurs when divergent…

Describes a schoolwide project at Central Elementary School in Morgantown, West Virginia, called the "Worlds of a Reader's Mind." Describes the deliberations among both students and teachers that went into establishing the project, how the project is run, and the "enormously beneficial" impact on students' achievement and self-esteem. (SR)

Describes how one school system (the Nenominee Indian School District) has been engaged in developing a curriculum based on the values of its Native American community. Discusses Native American education today, the former curriculum at the Kashena primary school, Native American values, and the process of developing this curriculum. (SR)