The Jewel in the Crown

By Continued

Now, Adler moves to another B-word activity, pulling out a book on butterflies, I'm a Caterpillar . She asks Brittany to read. Brittany has been sitting quietly with a sad look on her face, but as she begins to read--"I turn into a pupa. Then I turn into a chrysalis. ..."--the sadness seems to melt away.

At P.S. 161, there is no trace of the battle over whole language and phonics that has divided schools across the country. That fight was resolved with the adoption of the Open Court phonics program. Yet, listening to several teachers talk about their approach to reading instruction, it becomes clear that they each have their own take on the matter.

"You can't just teach phonics," explains Jacqueline Streets, a kindergarten teacher. "If there's no reason to read,...