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This book is based on the belief that learners who are making meaning draw simultaneously on different dimensions of knowing--different forms of expression, different kinds of ideas, and different cultural frameworks. When honored and recognized in the classroom these differences create a richer way to explore the path to knowledge, according to the book. By stressing that literacy develops across sign systems that can include art, music, and movement, in addition to language, the book encourages "artful" teaching and learning. It argues, in fact, that those most challenged by traditional curriculum will find with this approach the encouragement to shine. The book begins by explaining why inquiry and multiple ways of knowing should be central to literacy and learning, and shows how to build such a curriculum. It next offers theory-into-practice techniques, insight into how such a curriculum actually worked on a day-to-day basis, suggestions on how educators can better support and understand their students, and, finally, insights the authors gained by undertaking this inquiry. The curriculum approach in the book offers educators the tools necessary to help learners develop wide-ranging sensibilities that enable them to think and communicate in complex ways, to make sense of multiple perspectives, to continually revise their personal identities and theories of the world, and to positively shape their lives and communities. Two appendixes suggest creative ideas to use in the classroom and a third presents a 60-item bibliography of sources for further study. (NKA)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert