Offers a five-step support technique for transferring speaking to writing and offers observations on helping children with the conventions of writing. (HTH)

Surveys materials in the ERIC system supporting the theory that children have a natural inclination to write that teachers are not taking advantage of and that offer practical suggestions to encourage writing skills and interest. (HTH)

Describes a set of tools (called Story Maker, Pre-Fab Story Maker, and Story Maker Maker) for teaching creative writing that takes advantage of the potential power of the social situation in the classroom, focuses on higher-level structures in text, and integrates reading and writing in school. (AEA)

Describes a "directed writing activity" that teachers can use in developing writing sessions that consistently produce good results. Outlines six steps in the writing activity: prewriting, framing the writing assignment, writing the assignment, revising the draft, editing, and writing the final draft. (AEA)

Describes ways that word-processing computers can be used to teach writing and editing skills and related attitudes. Explores the advantages and disadvantages of using computers in writing programs, as well as some misconceptions about computers. (HTH)

The conventions inherent to language are explored, and demonstrations, engagement, and sensitivity are discussed as factors present in all learning situations in which a person learns to master these complex conventions. (HTH)

Drawings and writings of two children produced for each year from age four to eight were presented to "experts" in the field of style to see if they could determine which student did each picture or paragraph, based on stylistic consistencies. Concludes that style is inherent in a child's first compositions. (HTH)

Encourages teachers to view children's writing positively, to see errors not as deficiencies but as signs of growth. (DD)

This fourth article in a series on the writing process describes one child's writing process and draws implications for teaching first grade writing. (DD)

Suggests writing activities in eight categories that provide remedial readers with the exposure to language that they need in order to improve their reading. (DD)

Notes that a premium has been placed on written composition in American schools. Discusses classroom research that demonstrates the power of oral composition. Suggests that to help all children become better composers, educators must involve them in authentic oral, as well as written, composition. (SR)

Describes how Taylor's life experiences shaped her writing. Discusses nine of her books, what influenced them, and the context in which they were written. (SG)

Suggests that children must be allowed their voices through writing. Discusses how four eighth-grade students turned life experiences into meaningful writing for the classroom. (RS)

Puzzles over questions about writing and identity revealed in the author's kindergarten classroom. Focuses on the story of a child struggling to find her own way and her own place to examine the notion that writing, understood as a philosophical and artistic practice, might make a more explicit contribution to the process of…