Finds that when children write without any picture, they use a more developed story narrative than when they are given pictures as an initial stimulus. Suggests that it is the content of the picture and the way in which it is presented that affects story structure. (RS)

Describes a year-long study in a whole-language classroom of second-grade students' use of gendered language during informal interactions in writers' workshop. Points out the importance of intent in the process of communication. (SR)

Investigates the effects of explicit story structure instruction on below-average fourth and fifth grade readers' narrative writing performance. Finds that explicit story structure instruction positively influenced the narrative writing performance in terms of both quality and quantity of their writing. (MG)

Analyzes the structural and thematic elements of three stories written by a sixth-grade Navajo girl to challenge the notion that a linear pattern of growth is followed by all children as they learn to write stories. The results question the assumption that certain kinds of narratives and their American Indian authors are less able or less…