This book emphasizes the role of critical thinking and reading skills in the development of persuasive writing. The book also introduces several different methods to teach argument (for example, those of Aristotle, Stephen Toulmin, and Carl Rogers) as a way of giving students the freedom to find the systems that work best for them and to find ways…

This booklet offers practical ideas, specific examples, and realistic solutions to the most common writing problems that administrators face. The booklet's four chapters are: (1) Writing Basics (ideas on organization, reasons to write, writers' responsibilities, getting personal, and writing for a particular occasion); (2) Getting Started (getting…

Drawing from her own experiences as well as those of other teachers, the author of this book shares a variety of useful and practical teacher-tested strategies that have helped young children experience success in writing. With easy-to-access information, the book provides teachers with: ways to build children's interest, enthusiasm, and…

This series of issues of a newsletter called "The Dangling Modifier" begins with Volume 1, Number 1 (Fall 1994) and concludes with Volume 9, Number 2 (2003). The newsletter is subtitled "A National Newsletter by and for Peer Tutors in Writing" for the majority of the issues--the last issue changes the subtitle to "An…

It is argued that college students can learn to improve their writing by being taught a number of basic strategies. A distinction is made between weak and strong strategies, and a number of each are identified and discussed. Classroom instructional procedures supporting improvement of skills are outlined. (Author/MSE)

A guide to faculty writing for publication recommends that authors know their audience, find an appropriate publisher, follow an appropriate style manual, use an appealing writing style, establish a writing routine, not make multiple submissions, follow the revise-and-resubmit response, understand the selection, editing, and publication processes,…

In this video, an educator models efficient peer writing conferences in a third-grade classroom. The video demonstrates peer conferencing at work and its value in the daily writing workshop. An important sharing technique is included in the model. Key concepts are listed and reiterated. The model presented in the video may be used at any grade…

Argues for teaching students to write leads that stress unusual story features and can be used as a peg to hang the rest of the story on. Recommends the use of student writing models, accounts by professional writers about lead writing, and instruction in the rhetorical strategy of contrast/dissonance. (PAA)

An effective way to conduct writing conferences and support primary students in writing is to find questions that encourage more thinking and writing as they work. Four strategies include: avoiding yes/no questions, encouraging students to value work, evaluating many writing samples, and refocusing in conferences. The paper offers sample writing…

This book is meant as a resource that can be used by experienced writing teachers as a practical reference when planning writing lessons. The book includes a sequence of instruction, lesson ideas, enrichment options, literature and poetry connections, student samples, and all the ready-to-use materials teachers need to implement the…

This handbook seeks to provide a practical, readable guide to teaching writing across a broad range of ages and grade levels (K-8). The handbook's seven chapters cover each stage of the writing process in detail, from setting a purpose for writing to drafting, revising, editing, and producing a "finished" product. Its goal is to provide…

Presents three activities to help primary students come up with writing ideas. The first helps students share ideas and see patterns in topics. The second has students discuss topics in groups to determine a variety of potential writing topics. The third has students review their topics and compare them with their classmates' topics. (SM)

Middle school teacher describes a framework that gives inexperienced, anxious writers the confidence to write. The process, called doing prompts, stems from analyzing prompts or writing assignments that outline the topic for a piece of writing. The process involves analyzing the prompt being called for, completing a graphic organizer, composing…

This article describes how computer center sign-up sheets encouraged preschool children with a variety of disabilities to make visible advances in their emergent writing skills over the years. The children progressed from making scribbles to making recognizable letter-symbols on the sign-up sheets. Tips for creating sign-up sheets are provided.…

Written by a workplace literacy teacher, this writing curriculum guide contains information, reflections, and student handouts for teaching writing to adult students. Topics covered include motivation to write, misconceptions about writing, the writing process (rehearsal, drafting, revision, editing, and publishing), spelling, and voice. (KC)