This piece explores how moving from grammar instruction to language study empowers students and their writing. To shift perspective and re-envision how language discussion can begin in the classroom, suggestions are offered with power dynamics and contextual needs of real communication situations. The authors detail activities that draw on…

Presents an example illustrating how teachers can create reading and writing activities that emphasize how words work through grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and usage. Describes a workshop that highlights a single punctuation mark: the semicolon. Notes that the semicolon defies rigid rules for use and is therefore ideally suited for instruction…

Learning to read is a qualitatively different process from learning to compute, in that each student must discover his own ways of finding meanings. (JH)

Describes the computer as a hammer, a tool with unique qualities that allows people to perceive, manipulate, and express language in ways quite different from traditional media. Explores the tool of the multimedia presentation, a common use of technology in classrooms today. Describes a simple project with sixth graders that incorporates reading,…

Examines Dora V. Smith, who was a pioneer in education, ahead of her time in calling for a student-centered approach in the teaching of writing and reading. Explains how she stood up for cultivating a child's personal interests, both in choice of reading material and in written responses to that reading. (TB)