English Update. March 23, 2007. LA January 2007

Language Arts. January 2007.
Theme is children’s literature.

literature….. Response….. Encourage children to respond non-judgmentally to what they are reading as a basis for later judgments. They can do so in "reading journals" in which they discuss what they are thinking while they are reading. JF Copenhaver-Johnson, et al. LA (Jan. 07), 234-244.

Literature….. Culture….. Stories—folktales, legends, myths—transmit culture. D Reese. LA (Jan. 07), 245.

Literature….. American Indians….. Books about native Americans often reinforce false stereotypes. We need to find books about native Americans that present an accurate portrayal of their culture. D Reese. LA (Jan. 07), 245-256.

Literature….. Fiction/nonfiction….. To What degree do elementary schools emphasize fiction over nonfiction? Author is disturbed by the overemphasis in elementary schools on fiction vs. nonfiction. P Colman. LA (Jan. 07), 257-268.

Literature….. Fiction/nonfiction….. Method for analyzing the degree to which a book is fiction or nonfiction. No made-up material to all made-up material; minimal information to lots of information; no narrative text to all narrative text; no expository text to all expository text; no literary devices to many literary devices; minimal author’s voice to intense author’s voice; no front-back material to copious front-back material; no visual material to copious visual material. P Colman. LA (Jan. 07), 267. [Note: In adult fiction there is almost as much information about careers, professions, cultures, industries, etc. as in nonfiction.]

Literature….. Library….. How help families read together? Library encourages families to come one night a week to read and discuss a book together. C Ward. LA (Jan. 07), 271-272.

Literature….. Picture books….. How are picture books changing? Growing importance of nonfiction picture books. CD Wolfenberger and LB Sipe. LA (Jan. 07), 276.

Archive
Reading….. Research….. What are some research-based characteristics of successful reading instruction? Research-based characteristics of reading instruction: direct instruction in phonemic awareness; explicit, systematic phonics instruction; guided, repeated oral reading; direct and indirect vocabulary instruction; comprehension strategies instruction; provide direct instruction that included making learning goals clear; asking questions to monitor student understanding and providing feedback to students about their progress; modeling and direct explanation to teach students strategies; coaching teaching style vs. telling; engage students in higher level responses. BM Taylor, et al. RRQ (Jan/Feb/Mar 05), 44-45.

Reading….. Research….. How help students complete a research project? Students select subject. Begin with dictionary. Use table of contents and index to see if available books deal with the subject. Skim pages on which subject is supposed to be dealt with. Prepare reference cards. Record info in their own words. RE Sabaroff. EE. 398.

Reading….. Response….. How model the reading process? Reads aloud a short story. The students read along silently from the overhead. Verbalizes his reactions to what he reads. Demonstrates how to interact with the text. Students were surprised that he demonstrated confusion at what he was reading. It was a story he hadn’t read before. Gave students insight into how to respond while reading. J Sommers. TETYC (Mar. 05), 298-305.

Reading….. Response….. How help students respond to reading? Create tableaux, using scenes from stories. Students try to guess what is happening. R Tortello. RT (Oct. 04), 206-207.

Reading….. Scaffolding….. What does the term “scaffolding” mean? Scaffolding means providing help when students are having difficulty completing a task. KF Clark and MF Graves. RT (Mar. 05), 570-580.

Reading….. Strategies….. How help students monitor their own reading processes? Teachers should reflect on and define the learning strategies they use, share their reflections with the students and cause students to reflect on their learning strategies. BJ Walker. RT (Apr. 05), 688-692. Give students a questionnaire in which they define their view of a good reader. Do you know any good readers? Who? How do you know he/she is a good reader? Name some things good readers do when they read. Name some things poor readers do when they read. What kind of reader are you? Tell why. JC Johnson. RT (May 05), 767.

LA = Language Arts. RT = Reading Teacher. TETYC = Teaching English in Two-Year Colleges. RRQ = Reading Research Quarterly.