Language Arts, Vol. 76, No. 5, May 1999

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Talking Texts

• "Duckville" and Other Tales

  Pauline Harris and Jillian Trezise

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  Abstract: Illustrates how examination of children's "condensed" utterances can reveal the emergence of complex thought processes. Shows how these expressions, often brief and easily overlooked, when negotiated and probed by the teacher, reveal multiple connections, the drawing of analogies, divergent frames of reference, intertextual discontinuities, and intertextual metaphor.

  Keywords: Elementary

• "Teacher-Watching": Examining Teacher Talk in Literature Circles

  Kathy Short, Gloria Kaufman, Sandy Kaser, Leslie H. Kahn and Kathleen Marie Crawford

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  Abstract: Investigates how teacher talk and social interaction influence children's discussions, by comparing the talk occurring within literature circles in fourth-grade classrooms where teachers were and were not present. Discusses the four roles teachers took (facilitators, participants, mediators, and active listeners). Notes strategies students used to generate and facilitate their discussions that related to teacher roles within the classroom.

  Keywords: Elementary, Pedagogy, Research

• Making Meaning with Art: Children's Stories

  Rochelle I. Frei

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  Abstract: Investigates the role of art in understanding children's literacy processes and strategies. Finds that the kindergarten children exhibited typical behaviors of language learning. Argues that art needs to be considered as a primary vehicle to understanding children's literacy processes and strategies.

  Keywords: Elementary, Literacy

• "We Call Him Dr. King": Reciprocal Distancing in Urban Classrooms

  Joanne Larson and Patricia D. Irvine

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  Abstract: Presents examples of discourse in classroom interaction that show how social relations in the classroom mirror larger societal relationships in ways that exclude students' cultural and linguistic practices as resources for meaningful literacy learning. Shows how this discourse process (called reciprocal distancing) is used by teachers and students to reinforce sociocultural distances, and notes how literacy learning is affected.

  Keywords: Elementary, Diversity, Pedagogy, School-Community Relation

• “Serious" Learning: Language Lost

  Danling Fu and Jane S. Townsend

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  Abstract: Researchers Fu and Townsend compare the learning and writing experiences of a child during his kindergarten year (with frequent immersion in reading and writing activities in their writing workshop) to his first-grade year (with worksheets and decontextualized exercises), critically examining such "serious" literacy learning that lacks a real audience and a real purpose for students.

  Keywords: Assessment, Language, Literacy, Research

• Strong Female Characters in Recent Children's Literature

  Pat Heine, Christine Inkster, Frank Kazemek, Sandra Williams, Sylvia Raschke, and Della Stevens

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  Abstract: Shares the authors' criteria for evaluating female characters as positive role models in children's literature. Explores the criteria by examining "The Ballad of Lucy Wipple" (Karen Cushman). Discusses other recently published picture books and novels which feature strong females in history, in contemporary times, and in fantasy.

  Keywords: Elementary, Diversity, Literature, Reading

• Diamonds of Thought: A Reflection

  Susie Garber

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  Abstract: Reflects on how the author's third-grade students, experienced in literary conversation from their reading workshop, transferred the practice of literary conversation to their writing workshop.

  Keywords: Elementary, Pedagogy, Writing, Professional Development, Reading

• Editors’ Pages

  Sharon Murphy and Curt Dudley-Marling

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Current Issues: When Irresistible Technology Meets Irreplaceable Teachers

  Frank Smith

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  Abstract: Argues that people and technology are inseparable and exert reciprocal control. Argues that teachers will not be able to halt the spreading influence of technology in education or in their lives, but should understand the dangers and be ready to confront them. Maintains that the human heart of education must be kept alive no matter how heartless the environment. This article available in print issue only.

  Keywords: Elementary

• ROUNDTABLE ON BOOKS

  Catherine Dorsey-Gaines, Polly Ashelman, Elizabeth Bauer, Patricia Bedi, Norma Jackson, Peter Jackson, Michael Knight, Michael Searson, and Jodi Tanne

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

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