Language Arts, Vol. 83, No. 1, September 2005

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Bringing Children and Books Together

• Call for Manuscripts - Language Arts

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITORS - September 2005

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

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Evoking a Poem: Connecting to the Words of Louise Rosenblatt

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Living a Life of Story: Charlotte Huck

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• Ashley and Junie B. Jones: A Struggling Reader Makes a Connection to Literacy

  Carol D. Wickstrom, Joan Scott Curtis, and Kayla Daniel

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: This case study of a struggling reader suggests that learning to read is not necessarily about using the right program but rather about making the right connection. In this case, Ashley connects with a particular book character, Junie B. Jones, who opens the door for her to literacy.

  Keywords: Elementary, Literacy, Literature

• The Inquiry Acts of Bilingual Children in Literature Discussions

  Carmen M. Martinez-Roldán

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: This article presents the inquiry acts of bilingual children in literature discussions as they discussed the story Oliver Button Is a Sissy in their second grade classroom. The context that mediated their inquiries is described using a sociocultural approach.

  Keywords: Elementary, Diversity, Literacy, Literature, Research

• Listening to Nysia: Storytelling as a Way Into Writing in Kindergarten

  Martha Horn

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: This article invites the reader into a storytelling session in an urban kindergarten classroom in Boston. Writing begins for these children with the oral telling of personal stories. The author reflects on a tape-recorded session with a particular child, letting the reader in on her thinking as she listened and tried to draw out the child’s story. She considers how her response may have influenced the teller and reflects on how her responses addressed aspects of craft that are usually associated with written text. She suggests that by creating space for children to build on what they bring to school at five years old—their words and their experiences—we can help them to begin to craft stories, even before they are able to put their stories down in words.

  Keywords: Elementary, Literacy, Writing

• Textual Borderlands: Students' Recontextualizations in Writing Children's Books

  Jennifer C. Stone

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: This article examines a children’s book writing workshop for middle school students of color in which 12 girls participated. The curriculum was developed to create intersections between students’ in- and out-of-school lives. The students’ writing within the workshop is analyzed by unpacking their “recontextualizations” of settings, characters, language, and popular culture.

  Keywords: Elementary, Middle, Diversity, Language, Literature, Writing

• Looking Closely at a Science Trade Book: Gail Gibbons and Multimodal Literacy

  Laura B. Smolkin and Carol A. Donovan

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Gail Gibbons is a prolific and respected author/illustrator of children's informational texts. Focusing on her science trade book Planet Earth Inside/Out, the article includes an interview with Gibbons and an analysis of the verbal and visual aspects of multimodal texts.

  Keywords: Elementary, Literature

• Reclaiming Literacy Instruction: Evidence in Support of Literature-Based Programs

  Poonam Arya, Prisca Martens, G. Patricia Wilson, Bess Altwerger, Lijun Jin, Barbara Laster, and Debora Lang

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: This study examines claims regarding the benefits of systematic and explicit phonics programs by comparing literature-based programs with commercial phonics-based programs to determine which best supports second grades’ reading strategies and comprehension. Students in literature-based programs performed comparably in their use of graphophonics and focused more on meaning than students in phonics programs.

  Keywords: Elementary, Literacy, Literature, Pedagogy, Research

• FURTHER READING ON CONNECTING CHILDREN WITH BOOKS

  Shelby A. Wolf

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary, Reading

• READING CORNER FOR EDUCTORS: Connecting Children and Books

  Linda Leonard Lamme, Zhihui Fang, Danling Fu, Evie Adams Welch, and Ruth McKoy Lowery

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary, Reading

• READING CORNER FOR CHILDREN:Reaching Readers with Great Books

  Lester L. Laminack and Barbara H. Bell

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

• PROFILE: Chris Soentpiet: A Story within the Story

  Isaac Willis Larison

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Elementary

* Journal articles are provided in PDF format and can be opened using the free Adobe® Reader® program or a comparable viewer. Click here to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Reader.