This book is a collection of articles originally printed in "Language Arts," the membership journal of the elementary section of the National Council of Teachers of English. The book responds to the thousands of teachers looking for ways to incorporate student-centered, collaborative learning strategies into their classrooms. The articles draw heavily upon the experiences of reflective teacher-researchers who have adapted approaches based on the whole language philosophy to meet the unique learning styles of their students. The articles (grouped into sections on writing, writing/thinking, literature, drama, and storytelling) are as follows: (1) "What Am I Supposed To Do While They're Writing?" (Mary K. Simpson); (2) "The Writer's Inside Story" (Carin Hauser); (3) "First Grade Thinkers Becoming Literate" (Carol S. Avery); (4) "'What Did Leo Feed the Turtle?' and Other Nonliterary Questions" (E. Wendy Saul); (5) "Children's Response to Literature" (Janet Hickman); (6) "Building Castles in the Classroom" (Karen L. Erickson); (7) "Connecting to Language through Story" (Marni Schwartz); (8) "Storytelling and Science" (Kathleen Martin and Etta Miller); and (9) "Children's Narrative Thought, at Home and at School" (Richard Van Dongen). (SR)
Barbara Kiefer Libri
