This article explores commonalties between literacy instruction and learning to understand the symbolic languages of the visual and performing arts. A detailed case study of an urban professional development program for secondary arts teachers looks at the learning initiated by writing assignments that prompted students to reflect on arts…

This book helps educators improve students' ability to write clear, coherent essays in response to on-demand writing prompts. While it focuses on students' abilities to succeed at on-demand writing, it also promotes the teaching of writing as an expression of art and self. For grades 4-12, it provides examples of responses to narrative and…

Having celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2005, the Advanced Placement (AP) program has received quite a bit of attention in the past few years due mainly to its exponential growth in popularity. While much of this attention has been positive, a significant amount of criticism has attacked the assumptions of the AP program, aligning it with…

Today, less than one-third of America's high school students read or write at grade level. Literacy skills are alarmingly low even among those students who plan to go to college. Clearly, vast numbers of middle and high school students need help with their reading and writing skills. The question is: Whose job should it be to teach them? Among…

Following the publication of an article summarising two systematic reviews on whether the teaching of grammar is effective in improving 5-16 year olds' writing (Andrews et al, 2006), the present article reflects on the relationship between knowledge about language and knowledge about grammar. It argues that there is no evidence for the assumption…

The author discusses the power of personal narratives to help writers not only improve their writing and understand themselves but also think more critically. Through poetry that grew from her impulse for narrative, the author reveals her growth as a teacher who was simultaneously learning about students' growth and change. (Contains 1 figure.)

Contributions from researchers and practitioners involved in self, peer and group assessment in an online or e-learning environment investigate how assessment practices can be used to assist and improve the learning process. The book describes the principal characteristics of self, peer and group assessment; presents guidelines for effective…

Do you spend entirely too much time correcting your students' papers? Do your students' essays and term papers take side trips to nowhere? Is their writing riddled with mechanical errors? Do their lab reports and essays lack specificity and clarity? Writing in the Content Areas, Second Edition is for middle and high school content area teachers…

In contrast to the primary grades when children are learning to read, students in grades 4 through 12 are expected to learn content as they read, yet they may still struggle with reading basics. This book provides a realistic and systematic process for improving reading and writing while enhancing content knowledge and skills. Based on proven…