Differences and similarities between oral and written communication as applied to writing instruction are discussed with examples of divergent oral and written styles among speakers of nonstandard dialects, code switching between speech and writing, convergence and divergence in the development of writing skills, and the role of talking in writing…

Proposes a heuristic to generate specific and vivid phrasing and to draw on the right hemisphere of the brain for the substance of the essay. Describes stages of process as DRAW (Delineate, Ruminate, Analogize, and Write). Emphasizes creative description and expressive language rather than generation of ideas. (JG)

Sensory metaphors--based on visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, or gustatory sensation--are pervasive in everyday communication. Teachers can improve communication with students by learning to recognize sensory metaphors, matching their own sensory language with that of their students, maximizing sensory channels, and teaching sensation and…

In a letter to her six-year-old's kindergarten teacher, a parent discusses the child's (who has cerebral palsy) use of communication devices for expressive language and ways in which the teacher can help the child adjust and learn in such areas as "wait time," spontaneous conversation, and peer relationships. (CB)

This paper describes the process of "contemplation writing" for one urban sixth-grade class. The paper describes the daily give-and-take between teacher and students, relates the way in which the teacher instructed his students about how to concentrate and observe before the writing process actually began, discusses the writings that…

Noting that knowledge of grammar rules does not ensure correct usage in one's own writing, describes an approach used in a summer workshop to promote awareness of appropriate idiom where 35 highly motivated black students produced 'Snow White' using their own script, half in standard dialect and half in black dialect. (JG)