THEME EXPLORATION

by Constance Weaver, Carl Anderson, Scott Peterson

Theme Exploration is the narrative of three educators who decided to research how teachers and students can engage in theme study in a truly effective and holistic way. It tells the story of a project that grew from a simple upper elementary theme unit into a teacher researcher study of theme exploration in whole language classrooms, with a focus on the first and fourth grades. The "voyage of discovery" alluded to in the title refers to the growth each of the authors experienced as he or she participated in the project. The book demonstrates not only their successes, but also their fears and failures, their compromises and contradictions. And in doing so, it provides comfort for others who are experiencing the difficulties and tensions of becoming "whole language" teachers.

230 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1993