This paper initially presents the results of several studies concerning the kind of writing assigned by social studies teachers and the kind of writing assigned by social studies textbooks. The second part of this paper describes several things social studies teachers using textbook writing assignments might do to clarify for students what is…

This paper initially presents the results of several studies concerning what kind of writing mathematics teachers assign and what kind of writing mathematics textbooks assign. By far, report-research was the most popular type of writing assigned in the surveyed textbooks. The types of reports students were asked to write include biography,…

This paper initially presents the results of several studies concerning what kind of writing science teachers assign and what kind of writing science textbooks assign. By far, reporting was the most popular type of writing assigned in the surveyed textbooks, although other types of writing were in evidence. Exposition tended to take three forms:…

Presents "fail-safe" lessons for emergencies and substitutes. Describes an experimental design with six steps, designed to help teachers teach students some things about themselves, such as whether boys are better spellers than girls. Offers other examples from the classroom. (EL)