Discusses how computer technology has brought with it a rethinking about how writing happens. Notes that research indicates that computers have a positive impact on student writing. Lists 15 web sites that may help teachers and students with the task of writing. (SG)

This book describes a procedure for scoring writing samples with holistic methods and for analyzing the results with methods from primary trait scoring, analytical scoring, and discourse scoring. Following an introduction, the four chapters in the book focus on (1) the selection of topics to be used in a writing assessment, (2) the format for…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores approaches to, problems with, and trends in large scale writing assessment. The digest first compares direct and indirect assessment approaches, then examines three approaches to scoring: holistic, primary trait, and analytic. It then discusses issues and…

Reports on ERIC materials that emanate from writing teachers participating in the Bay Area and the National Writing Projects. Lists resources that provide program descriptions and learning activities for writing teachers. (RL)

The teaching of writing to students who speak nonstandard English can be difficult because students' linguistic differences rarely indicate true incompetence, and students' writing problems may result from conflicts between the cultures and language uses at home and school. Factors found to encourage writing improvement are the following: (1)…

This book, one of a series, shows how to help motivate children to learn. The message of the series urges parents and children to spend time together, talk about stories, and learn together. The first part of each book presents stories appropriate for varying grade levels, both younger children and those in grades three and four, and each book…

Intended for parents and teachers, this guide provides all the information needed to lead a first-grade child through 30 lessons or 30 weeks of learning for a beginning speller. The guide helps the child to learn to identify common, logical spelling patterns; leads the child quickly to more complex words; and aids him or her in becoming a…

This annotated bibliography contains 30 references and provides resources to understand the theoretical foundations of reader response--a literary theory that is currently gaining increasing attention in literature instruction. The bibliography ranges from 1982 to 1989 and is divided into four sections. The first section, "Teaching of…

This booklet, part of a series of information resources for teachers, focuses on integrating speech communication activities into writing programs for older students. The activities described have been tested in the integrated skills program at the University of Massachusetts and include concrete plans, assignments, learning activities, and…

Describes ERIC resources that present research on children's language usage and development and that suggest activities for the promotion of language development. (ET)

This ERIC "FAST Bib," which focuses on gender issues in language and writing, presents annotations of 23 ERIC documents and journal articles published between 1987 and 1991. The first section of the FAST Bib is an overview; the second section is divided between issues that are relevant to the elementary and secondary levels and issues that emerge…

Students often see revision not as an opportunity to develop and improve a piece of writing but as an indication that they have failed to do it right the first time. To them, revision means correction. To correct this assumption, teachers' comments on papers should focus on more than mechanics. Teachers would do well to comment on the paper's…

This ERIC Digest briefly profiles the approach to emergent literacy used by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation; comments on the process of understanding the connections between drawing, writing, and reading; and offers guidelines for supporting children's writing. It is argued that the process of learning to write begins in infancy,…

An increasing number of U.S. high school graduates enter college while still in the process of learning English. Referred to as generation 1.5 students because they share characteristics of both first- and second-generation immigrants, they do not fit into any of the traditional categories of nonnative English speakers enrolled in college writing…

Intended for parents and teachers, this guide provides all the information needed to lead a second grader through 30 lessons or 30 weeks of learning for a beginning speller. The guide helps the child to learn to identify common, logical spelling patterns; leads the child quickly to more complex words; and aids him or her in becoming a confident,…