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The purpose of this book is to consider early literacy education and whole language from the perspective of constructivist theory (which states that human beings acquire knowledge by building it from the inside in interaction with the environment) and research. More specifically, the book intends to show that tne whole language movement is part of a larger revolution in thinking about learning and teaching, and to enable whole language advocates to explain, evaluate, and improve upon their beliefs and practices on the basis of a scientific, explanatory theory about how children acquire knowledge. The first four chapters of the book describe constructivism and the research supporting it, while the rest of the book deals with classroom practices and related issues such as assessment. The book's nine chapters and their authors are a