A survey of current research in the teaching of English, describing several experimental programs in secondary school level composition and literature appreciation, and a study in children's literature instruction. (JB)

Shares the experiences of one teacher who changed her way of teaching high school at-risk students by creating an environment that encouraged students to explore writing and reading topics of their choice. Finds that students changed and learned using the writing-reading workshop approach. (MG)

Argues for a series of classroom strategies designed to help inner-city students distinguish between violence in their lives for which they are responsible and violence in their lives cause by larger societal structures. Describes possible readings, films, and corresponding writing exercises. Describes contact with community nonviolence groups and…

Describes the author's experiences teaching composition to inmates at a women's minimum security prison. Describes how these students wrote with alacrity and passion, using writing as a tool to solve problems and enlighten. Discusses how mandated curriculum and assignment requirements were met, revisions made and issues of dialect discussed, while…

Shares information about how four African American vernacular English speakers have successfully used their language abilities--the language of their everyday lives--within the context of their expository writing. Discusses principles that have guided one teacher in her work with language diverse students. (TB)

The identification and study of 20 syntactical patterns responsible for much of the structural ambiguity found in literary composition can develop in students an audience awareness. When they realize that such constructions as "a dull boy's knife" and "the club will be open to members from Monday to Thursday" can be misinterpreted, they take more…

Offers classroom teachers from kindergarten through grade 12 seven suggestions on writing publishable manuscripts: (1) study journals' editorial policies, (2) give credit for borrowed material, (3) learn of publication plans for forthcoming issues, (4) avoid sexist language, (5) keep the intended audience in mind, (6) proofread and revise, and (7)…

Describes a teaching method that uses the student's growing need to use the language as motivation. (CRH)

Recounts a program that organized composition students into writing teams to overcome (1) too much reliance on a teacher, (2) lack of student cooperation, (3) excessive individual competition, and (4) an overall negative atmosphere concerning writing. (CRH)

Describes a successful paper exchange program between eighth-grade students and high school seniors. States that the peer evaluations created audience awareness and motivated students' writing efforts. (MM)

Reports on a study that indicated the development of unhealthy attitudes toward writing in students who received negative feedback. (RL)

Proposes that offering students activities that exercise right-brain functions (nonverbal, nonrational, spatial, and intuitive) helps students become more fully developed human beings and better writers. (RL)

Describes how one teacher dealt with a rebellious sophomore Honors English student and how they learned to listen to each other. (MG)

Shares some of the things learned during interviews and observations of three English teachers focusing on the role of planning in the teaching process. (MG)

Describes a 45-year-old preservice teacher's relationship with his students in an inner-city school. Suggests that inner city students, despite their exposure to violence and drugs, are willing to cooperate and put forth effort if their ideas are treated with respect. (TB)