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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 051 228 TE 002 435 AUTHOR Early, Margaret, Ed. TITLE Language Face to Face: Developing a Language Centered Curriculum at the Heman Street School. INSTITUTION Syracuse Univ., N. Y. Eeading and Language Arts Center. PUB DATE 71 GRANT OEG-0-9-420068-2173-721 NOTE 159p. EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF-$0.65 HC-$6.58 DESCRIPTORS *Curriculum Development, Elementary School Teachers, *English Curriculum, Teacher Education, Teacher Educators ABSTRACT Five prospective elementary teachers and five prospective teacher trainers were i.ntroduced to the experience of initiating and developing a language-centered curriculum. A collection or articles, written by the doctoral and master's candidates in the program, represents significant aspects of their experience. The titles of the articles are the following: (1) "One Person's View of Language in the Elementary School," (2)"A Unit on Neighborhoods: Grade Two," (3) "Language Face to Face,"(4) "Introducing Individualized Reading in First Crade,"(5) "Introducing 'Free' Reading Perio6s,"(6) "Mini Courses: Evaluation of a Curricular Innovation at Heman Street School," (7) "Working on Writing,"(8) "Language Throughout the Integrated Day," (9;"learning Sight Words," (10) "Replication Study: Word Boundaries," (11) "'Action Research' on Spelling Methods in Grade Two," and (12) "Listening and Listening-Reading at Two Rates of Presentation by Fifth Grade Pupils." (CK) LANGUAGE FACE TO FACE DEVELOPING A LANGUAGE CENTERED CURRICULiti AT THE HBfAN STREET SGWL Edited uy Margaret Early Reading and Language Arts Center Syracuse Univr-rsity lLi 1 "PERMISS1.3 TO REPRODUCE THIS COPVRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BUN GRANTED BY (1.Eitet-Yf$1447 READING* ithv 1.4',AGa AZirsetAlsiSigAevse TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER A61104E113 WIN THE U.S. OFFICEOF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYITEM REOUIRES PEPAISSIONOf THE COPYRIGHT OWNER." Copyright 1971 by the Reading andLanguage Arts Center, Syracuse University LANGUAGE FACE TO FACE -- M EPI1N Project This publication results from a project sponsoted by the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, under the Education Professions Tbvel(prcnt Act. Syracuse Unitersity Laboratory for the Development of T achers, Sqpnrvisors, and Teacher Trainers as Innovators of Languaee Centered Curricult (Grant No. 0EG-0-9-42068-2173-721) ran from February, 1969, to June, 1970. The final report was filed with USOE July 31, 1970. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Office of Education, and no official endorsement by the U.S. Office of Education should be inferred. 3 PREFACE In 1969-70, the staff of do., Henan Street School inEast Syracuse, New York, co- operated with personnel from the Readingand Language Arts Center of Syracuse University on an EPDA project to introduce five prospective elementary teachers and five prospective teacher trainers to the experience of initiating and developinga language-centered curriculum. This collection of articles, written by the doctoral and master's candidates in theprogram, represents significant aspects of their experience. The introductory article by the editor providesan overview of the project and the schocL setting.Tie several articles in Part One not only suggest the philosophy of language development that underlies the project but describe classroom practicesand curricular innovations that energed during the year.The articles in Part Two report research studies developed by thedoctoral candidates. Part One begins with an essay by Christine San Jose, who is a candidate for a Ph.D. degree in English Education, inwhich she thinks through the uses of language andconstructs a framework for teachers to use in planning and assessing language instruction. Mrs. San Jose is a graduate of London ihiversity Institute of Education and has taught in English schools. At the end of the 1969-70 school year, she had the opportunity to visit schools in Leicestershire and to view developments in primary educationthere against the backgrotnd of her year in the Heenan Street School. Her observations, reported in the last article inPart One, "Language Throughout the Integrated Day," clarify popular impressions of British schools while offering insights to American teachersexperimenting with new curricular settings. The five master's candidates worked in all the classrooms under the guidance of the Henan Street teachers and thedoctoral candidates who were serving them as consultants.They assisted in all 41e research studies reported in Part Two, andthey developed many internal experiments of their own.Same of their experiences are indirectly reflected in the articles of the doctoral candidates, and we have borrowed from their logs to describeactivities in writing, oral language, and reading.Chris Paully stayed on at Heron Street in 1970-71 as the librarian. Winanne Nelson, Sandra Sutor, Roberta Brown, and April Rowlmd took up teaching positions inNew York State ant elsewhere upon completion of tie ir master'sdegrees. 4 Ted Mork, one of the five doctoral candidates, was particularly interested in the teaching of reading and in the development of children's voluntary reading. He has contributed two chapters, one describing a first grade teacher's efforts to add indiVdualized reading to her basal program, the other describing free reading periods in the upper grades. Mr. Mork continues in the program in the current year. The third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers at Heron Street wanted to break out of the traditional pattern of self-contained, graded classrooms. They sought to do so at least for part of the day by teaching mini courses cutting across grade lines and across, subject areas. At the end of the year they brought ih a consultant, John Dopyera,*to help them evaluate their efforts and decide on new directions. Mr. Dopyera has contributed a part of his report as "Mini Courses: Evaluation of a Curricular Innovation at Henan Street School." To add detail and flavor to this evaluative report, Chris Paully has recorded her experiences in "A Mini Course on Folk Songs," page 72. Mrs. San Jose's outstanding contribution to the Heenan Street project was in creative drama and oral language development.Her article on pages 31 to 3b gives one example of her work as she sought to demonstrate in a second grade how social studies, music, and art can become vehicles for language development. In the chanter titled "Language Face to Face" Mrs. San Jose has drawn together excerpts from papers by the teachers growing out of a workshop apsignment. Mrs. San Jose is continuing to work with Homan Street teachers mid this year's master's candidates. Part Two preselts research studies undertaken at Heron Street by the doctoral candidates, not only in fulfillment of degree requirements, but as part of tb.,:gr develerment as teacher trainers. An example of this second purpose is the study of spelling instruction designed and executed by Neil Mullen, a first-year doctoral candidate, in cooperation with the second grade teachers and the raster's candidates. This example of classroom research is en pages 121 to 136,'"Actioi Research'on Spelling Methods in Grade Two."Mr. Mullen continues in the project in 1970-71. Two of Cho doctoral candidates were in their third year of siudy when the project began and so they were able to complete their doctoral research in the East Syracuse-Minoa Schools. Richard Brigand's study compares fifth graders' perfonmmioes in listening and in listening chile following a printed text. He varied the rates of presentation of the recorded texts to assess these effects. His study is reported on pages 137 to 155.Pr. Bruland is now on the staff of the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay. Robert Christina, the second doctoral candidate to complete his program during the first year of the project, was primarily interested in developing readiness for reading among pm-school and kindergarten children. Pis doctoral study emerged from this viii .)r- interest. He tested how well kindergarten children who had not been taught to read would retain eight sight words when these were presented in i/t/a and in traditional orthography.He also studied the effects of tracing the words in both modes of presentation. This study 1: summarized on pages 109 to 114.Another study growing out of hi3 interests in beginning reading is reported as "Replication Study: Word Boundaries," on pages 115 to 119. Here he studied first graders at Homan Street to see whether they knew where printed words begin and end. Dr. Christina is aow on the staff of Oaxland University, Rochester, Michigan. The idea for the Homan Street Project originated with William D. Sheldon, director of the Reading and Language Arts Center, who has served for several years as a consultant to the East Syracuse- Minoa School district. Caving studied this school closely, comparing it with others in the district, he recognized it as a common type of disadvantaged school and one therefore particularly suited to become a laboratory for developing a language-centered curriculum. He recognized it, too, as a realistic_ setting in which to train future teachers and trainers of teachers. Initially the project was directed by William West, then associate professor of English Pucatiun at Syracuse University, now at the University of South Florida.Mach of the later success of the program can be traced to his planning and direction during the crucial period of getting off the ground. He was assisted in this first year by Beulah Kidson, now at the University of Texas at 1 Paso, who concentrated her efforts at the pre-school, kindergarten, and primary grades. Fred Tuttle, now at State University of New York, Brockport, served the project as research assistant. The contributions of several consultants car he acknowledged only inadequately in this brief statement; their various influences permeate the project. Our thanks therefore to the following consultants: Margaret Lay, Syracuse tniversity; Priscilla Tyler, University of Missouri, Kansas City; Donald Tuttle, Basic Studies Branch of USJF; Ephraim H.