Language Arts, Vol. 82, No. 4, March 2005

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Literacy Learning and the Young Child

• Thoughts from the Editors

  Kathy G. Short, Jean Schroeder, Gloria Kauffman and Sandy Kaser

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• The Donut House: Real World Literacy in an Urban Kindergarten Classroom

  Rebecca Powell and Nancy Davidson

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  Abstract: This article describes a real-world literacy project that occurred in an urban kindergarten classroom. The “donut house” project evolved from a school-university collaboration and generated numerous opportunities for teaching and using literacy in natural contexts. The authors argue that young students ought to be provided with literacy instruction that empowers them to develop a sense of self-efficacy, versus a literacy that is geared primarily toward improving performance on standardized achievement tests.

  Keywords: Literacy, Writing, Elementary

• Out of the Box: Critical Literacy in a First-Grade Classroom

  Christine H. Leland and Jerome Harste with Kimberly R. Huber

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  Abstract: A first grade teacher introduced critical picture books during story time and documented the ways in which the discussions of these books influenced children’s thinking and interactions with others. These influences include increases in the children’s awareness of social issues, ideas for social action, motivation for writing, attention to art, ability to get along with others, intertextual connections, and attention to multiple perspectives.

  Keywords: Diversity, Literacy, Literature, Pedagogy, Elementary

• Young Children's Versions of Curriculum: "How Do You Turn a Square into a Grown-Up?"

  Jane Hansen

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  Abstract: When young children engage in literacy experiences across the curriculum, they often write from their own points of view. This article examines how children explore different aspects of topics in science and social studies in their writing. In general, the classroom teacher’s belief in diversity enables children to find meaning in what they study.

  Keywords: Pedagogy, Writing, Elementary

• Literacy All the Livelong Day: A Picture Portfolio of Kindergarten Teaching and Learning

  Shelly Hudson Bowden

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  Abstract: This article documents a picture portfolio of teaching and students’ learning literacy throughout the school day in a kindergarten classroom.

  Keywords: Literacy, Pedagogy, Elementary

• A Thrice-Learned Lesson from the Literate Life of a Five-Year-Old

  Lori A. Norton-Meier

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  Abstract: This story about teacher transformation focuses on revisiting the same pivotal first-year teaching experience with a young child at three times throughout the author’s career. Each revisiting of this story leads to important lessons about language, literacy, and culture. The experience, based in the classroom and in the real world with a five-year-old boy, caused her to question Vygotsky’s notion of “the more knowledgeable other.”

  Keywords: Diversity, Language, Literacy, Elementary, School-Community Relation

• Remembering Critical Lessons in Early Literacy Research: A Transactional Perspective

  Kathryn F. Whitmore, Prisca Martens, Yetta Goodman, and Gretchen Owocki

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  Abstract: This timely synthesis of the vast body of literature about how young children develop literacy is organized around critical lessons from early literacy research that delineate a transactional perspective on early literacy development. It is imperative that we remember these lessons in the midst of political challenge and governmental confrontation.

  Keywords: Literacy, Research, Elementary

• READING CORNER FOR EDUCATORS: Developing Literacy in Young Children

  Zhihui Fang, Linda L. Lamme, Danling Fu, and Brandy Pitcher

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• READING CORNER FOR CHILDREN: 2004 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts

  Linda M. Pavonetti, Kathleen Armstrong, Marilyn Carpenter, Richard M. Kerper, Barbara A. Lehman, Miriam Martinez, and Junko Yokota

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• PROFILE: Emilia Ferrerio: Searching for Children's Understandings about Literacy as a Cultural Object

  Yetta Goodman, Iliana Reyes, and Kerry McArthur

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING ON LITERACY LEARNING AND THE YOUNG CHILD

  Deborah Wells Rowe

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

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