The Author's Chair and Beyond: Language and Literacy in a Primary Classroom

The Author's Chair and Beyond provides a sustained look at literacy development and language instruction across the curriculum in a teacher's primary classroom during one school year. Ellen Blackburn Karelitz describes not only what she does, but also why and how. Readers will gain insight into the resources and experiences that shape her decision making.

Chapters focus on:

• using literature to teach basic reading skills
• writing development and instructional techniques
• writing as a tool for reflection in the sciences
• children's note writing
• a variety of short writing tasks
• and bridging the space between literacy and numeracy.

Ellen Blackburn Karelitz has been a classroom teacher for over fifteen years. She received her undergraduate degree in sociology from Hiram College in Ohio and a master's degree in early childhood education from the University of New Hampshire. Ellen has taught preschool, kindergarten, transitional first grade, and first grade. In addition to her classroom teaching, she has been involved in several research projects in the field of reading/writing and has contributed articles to Language Arts. Examples from her classroom teaching have been cited in a number of other books and articles as well. She is an active volunteer in her local school district and continues to teach courses and conduct workshops. During the summer she is an instructor in the New Hampshire Writing Program at the University of New Hampshire.