The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of increased phonemic awareness instruction on the writing ability of At Risk first graders. Twenty-three students from a suburban first grade classroom in Central New Jersey were involved in the study. Twelve at risk students were divided into two groups, each of which received one half hour of…

This paper describes a program implemented to improve student writing skills. Research data included teachers' observations and evaluations, student surveys, and student writing samples. Subjects were students in grades 1, 3, and 4 in 5 Illinois schools showing a need for writing improvement. Objectives were to increase writing abilities with…

This report describes a program designed to improve students' expressive writing in a midwestern elementary school classroom. The targeted third and fourth grade students demonstrated inconsistencies in the quality of their writing which interfered with their success in the classroom. Evidence for the existence of the problem included district…

This report describes a program for increasing motivation in writing that will enhance students' skills at a variety of grade levels. The targeted population consisted of first, second, and third grade classes as well as ninth through twelfth grade Learning Disabled students in a Midwestern state. The evidence of lack of motivation was documented…

The proposed study was designed to improve the writing skills of students in the targeted first and fifth grade classrooms in one elementary school located in a Midwestern suburb. The study was designed as an action research project and was conducted by four researchers during the months of September through December 2002 with 118 participants (40…

This report describes instructional strategies that will improve the revising and editing skills of sixth grade students during the writing process. The literature review suggested improved instruction and evaluation through a writer's workshop approach, which would include a positive environment, mini-lessons, teacher modeling, peer editing, and…

This report describes a program for developing literacy skills in order to reduce the number of at-risk students in the identified primary classrooms. The targeted population consisted of students in kindergarten, second, and fourth grades. The kindergarten and second grade classrooms were located in a middle to high socioeconomic area within an…

This report describes instructional strategies to improve the revising and editing skills of sixth grade students during the writing process. The literature review suggested improved instruction and evaluation through a writing workshop approach as a possible solution to the problem of poor revision skills. Within this structure, research also…

This report describes a plan that was developed for improving middle school student writing skills and attitudes toward writing. The targeted population consisted of seventh and eighth graders in a low to middle class community located in western Illinois. The problems of weak writing skills, ineffective use of the writing process, and poor…

By the 1980s, the whole language philosophy (Goodman, 1986), based on the idea that reading and writing should be done for authentic purposes, gained credibility. As the movement gained momentum, more teachers began to adopt the student-centered writing workshop as a way of teaching writing. A study of a class of 27 culturally diverse third…

This study describes a program designed to increase academic achievement in reading and writing among first and second grade students in a rural, middle-income area. Evidence for the existence of the problem includes reading comprehension tests, observation checklists for reading skills and reading behaviors, and writing samples. Analysis of…

Many parents on a southwestern Manitoba (Canada) Indian reservation are troubled by the small number of high school students who graduate. Much of the failure can be attributed to the generally poor writing skills of aboriginal students. To increase the students' writing ability, a computer-assisted instruction program emphasizing writing and…

Focusing on the integration of early reading and writing skills, a study examined the instructional use of daily dialogue journals over a 5-month period in a class of 10 third-grade Native American students living on an Indian reservation in northern Michigan. Students were required to make an entry of at least three lines every day, all writing…

A program was implemented for increasing writing and problem solving skills to increase educational achievement. The targeted populations consisted of sixth and seventh grade students from two growing middle class suburban communities located in the Midwest. The problems of inadequate writing and problem solving skills were documented through data…