Teaching By The Books

Within the walls of Dodson Elementary School in Hermitage, Tenn., a Nashville suburb, is the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT), a three-year, $3 million research project funded by the computer company and the National Science Foundation. About 60 of the school's 3rd and 4th graders participate in the ACOT program, which attempts to infuse technology into every aspect of the curriculum. The classroom itself is chock-full of the kind of equipment most teachers only dream of: Apple computers, laser printers, VCRs, and camcorders.

But if ACOT is high-tech, Timothy Hamilton's 2nd grade classroom, just down the hall, is decidedly low-tech. Everywhere you look there are books, books, and more books. Big books. Little books. Hardcover books. Paperback books. Serious books. Silly books.

On one bulletin board is a banner that says, "Be Excited About Reading,'' or BEAR, which explains the abundance of stuffed bears scattered about the classroom. Another board displays biographical information about James Marshall, the "author of the month.'' In the front of the room, above the blackboard, are these words: "Our Goal: 500. Books Read: 394.'' Like the old McDonald's signs that tallied the number of hamburgers sold, the "books read''...