DOCUMENT RESUME ED 371 332 CS 011 761 AUTHOR Flurkey, Alan D., Ed.; Meyer, Richard J., Ed. TITLE Under the Whole Language Umbrella: Many Cultures, Many Voices. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill.; Whole Language Umbrella, Bloomington, IN. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-3051-8 PUB DATE 94 NOTE 392p. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 30518-0015; $14.95 members, $19.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Books (010) Collected Works General (020) Guides Non-Classroom Use (055) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC16 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Elementary Education; English (Second Language); *Literacy; *Multicultural Education; Parent Participation; *Spelling Instruction; Student Evaluation; *Whole Language Approach IDENTIFIERS Educational Issues ABSTRACT Originally presented at the second annual Whole Language Umbrella Conference, the 18 essays in this book address the three related themes of identity, responsibility, and practice. The essays in the book discuss how, whole language is defined, and how its practitioners come to define themselves; how whole language teachers act upon their identities through being informed, responsive, and accountable; and how identity and responsibility work together to inform daily practice in the classroom. After "Introduction: Three Themes" (Richard J. Meyer and Alan D. Flurkey), the essays in the book are:(1) "Many Cultures, Many Voices" (Dorothy Watson);(2) "I Hear Voices" (Judith Wells Lindfors);(3) "Whole Language Assessment and Evaluation: Connecting with Parents" (Norma Mickelson); (4) "Research about Whole Language; Research for Whole Language" (Carole Edelsky);(5) "Patriotic Literacy: The Intersection of Whole Language Philosophy and the Bill of Rights" (Patrick Shannon); (6) "The Bible and Whole Language" (Adrian Peetoom);(7) "The Myths and Realities of Whole Language: An Educational Movement at Risk" (David B. Doake); (8) "Moving toward a Literature-Based Curriculum: Problems and Possibilities" (Kathy G. Short); (9) "Spelling for the Whole Language Classroom" (Ethel Buchanan); (10) "Understanding and Educating Attention-Deficit Students: A Systems-Theory, Whole Language Perspective" (Constance Weaver); (11) "Whole Language Principles for Bilingual Learners" (David Freeman and Yvonne Freeman); (12) "One among Many: A Multicultural, Multilingual Perspective" (Yetta M. Goodman); (13) "Beginning Literacy in English in a Whole Language Bilingual Program" (Sarah Hudelson and Irene Alicia Serna); (14) "Providing Time for Flowers: A Curriculum Vision for the Twenty-First Century" (Mary Kenner Glover); (15) "The Triumphs and Tribulations of a Whole Language Teacher" (Wendy Hood); (16) "Booksharing: Teachers and Parents Reading to Deaf Children" (Carolyn Ewoldt); (17) "Written Dialogue with Young Children: Making Writing Live" (Nigel Hall); and (18) "Max Beltmann: The Many Voices of Teacher Change" (Rudi Engbrecht). (RS) aidy lad A nu GUAGE RIBLLA U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION 011ce of Edo:at...web Reeeetch and unproymint EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) O This document Ma boonrobrodeced 118 rocirmifd from th person « oceamtabon ongmebne A CI Minor changes Num boon madeto /(necOvO roofOduClion qualify Points of vow of opmforlS Voted m this00Cti Mont do not nfloCAlliarrly roorommf°Maar OERI position or policy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS ( Ve'd MATERIAL HAS BEENGRANTED BY muic- py &e-s al RESOURCES _f (away 5VA TO THE EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION CENTER,ERIC) ore.,5-t- ce)(4cl fiTi71 re a a any117i09. Edited by Alan D. Flurkey andRichard J. Meyer 2 BEST COPY WARBLE Under the Whole Language Umbrella Under the Whole Language Umbrella Many Cultures, Many Voices Edited by Alan D. Flurkey Kyrene Elementary School District, Tempe, Arizona,and University of Arizona Richard J. Meyer University Of Nebraska-Lincoln National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096 Whole Language Umbrella P.O. Box 2029 Bloomington, Indiana 47402-2029 4 Grateful acknowledgment is made for permissionto reprint the following: Two illus- trations from WE LOOK AND SEE by William S. Gray,Dorothy Baruch, and Elizabeth Rider Montgomery, illustrated by Eleanor Campbell.Copyright 1946 by Scott, Fores- man and Company. Reprinted by permission. One chart, reprinted bypermission of Mark Collis and Joan Dalton: BECOMING RESPONSIBLELEARNERS: STRATEGIES FOR POSITIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT(Heinemann, A Division of Reed Elsevier Inc., Portsmouth, NH, 1991). NCTE Editorial Board: Hazel Davis, Keith Gilyard,Ronald Jobe, Joyce Kinkead, Louise M. Phelps, Charles Suhor, Chair,ex officio, Michael Spooner, ex officio Manuscript Editor: Jane M. Curran Production Editor: David Hamburg Cover Design: Carlton Bruett; cover illustration by BlakeWilliamson Interior Book Design: Doug Burnett NCTE Stock Number: 30518-3050 C) 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of Englishand the Whole Language Umbrella. All rights reserved. Printed in the United Statesof America. Requests for permission to reprint any portion of this book should be directedto Permissions Department, NCTE, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL61801-1096. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publicationsto provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and theteaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded toany particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board ofDirectors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsementis clearly speci- fied. The Whole Language Umbrella sees Whole Languageas a dynamic philosophy of education. A confederation of Whole Languagesupport groups and individuals, WLU serves Whole Language learning by promoting research, publications, andcollabora- tion among educators. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Under the whole language umbrella : many cultures,many voices / edited by Alan D. Flurkey, Richard J. Meyer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8141-3051-8 1. Language experience approach in education. 2. Languagearts (Elementary) 3. Multicultural ech,cation.4. Literacy. I. Flurkey, Alan D., 1955- . IL Meyer, Richard J., 1949- LB1576.U52 1994 372.6dc20 94-17030 CIP For Jane, who got so much startedA.D.E For Pat, Sadie, and Zoe R.J.M. 6 vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: Three Themes 1 Richard J. Meyer and Alan D. Flurkey I. Theme: Identity 1. Many Cultures, Many Voices 27 Dorothy Watson 2.I Hear Voices 42 Judith Wells Lindfors 3. Whole Language Assessment andEvaluation: Connecting with Parents 59 Norma Mickelson 4. Research about Whole Language;Research for Whole Language 64 Carole Edelsky 5. Patriotic Literacy: The Intersection of Whole Language Philosophy and the Bill of Rights 85 Patrick Shannon 6. The Bible and Whole Language 102 Adrian Peetoom II. Theme: Responsibility 7. The Myths and Realities of Whole Language: An Educational Movement at Risk 125 David B. Doake 8. Moving toward a Literature-BasedCurriculum: Problems and Possibilities 158 Kathy G. Short 9. Spelling for the Whole LanguageClassroom 178 Ethel Buchanan 7 viii Contents 10. Understanding and Educating Attention-Deficit Students: A Systems-Theory, Whole Language Perspective 203 Constance Weaver 11. Whole Language Principles for Bilingual Learners 240 David Freeman and Yvonne Freeman III. Theme: ,:ractice 12. One among Many: A Multicultural, Multilingual Perspective 267 Yetta M. Goodman 13. Beginning Literacy in English ina Whole Language Bilingual Program 278 Sarah Hudelson and Irene Alicia Serna 14. Providing Time for Flowers: A Curriculum Vision for the Twenty-first Century 295 Mary Kenner Glover 15. The Triumphs and Tribulations ofa Whole Language Teacher 309 Wendy Hood 16. Booksharing: Teachers and Parents Readingto Deaf Children 331 Carolyn Ewoldt 17. Written Dialogue with Young Children: Making Writing Live 343 Nigel Hall 18. Max Beltmann: The Many Voices of Teacher Change 357 Rudi Engbrecht Editors 381 Contributors 383 ix Preface The field of education is changing. This is evidentfrom a variety of perspectives. There are sweeping panoramic views from which we can look at the competition between theories of lan- guage and learning and how they play out againsteach other in research and practice. We can look at literacy processes when multiple cultures and languages come together in a particular setting. We can inspect the ways that politics and education influence each other by looking at changes in law and policy. Or we can scale down even further to see how an individual learns the conventions of language; a young writer demonstrates sufficient control over genreand letter- sound relationships to achieve her goals by writing a personal corre- spondence; a young reader comes to know the world through literature. As professional educators, we can even turn our sights on ourselves by asking how we can best come to know the breadth of issues in this field and how we can advocate for our students and best support their learning. To find where the most dramatic changes in educational practice are occurring, we need to look no furtherthan those who are involved with whole language. Within the past twenty-five years, modem theo- ries of literacy processes and language learning have brought astonishing change to the field of education with their implications for child-centered, meaning-centered practice. As an educational philoso- phy, whole language brings to the field a depth that can only come from powerful explanations