Evidence-based writing is a complex standard in the Common Core State Standards that has taken center stage in the writing curriculum. Students must demonstrate proficiency in making claims based on evidence and explain how the evidence supports their claim. This is a challenging task for all students, but for English learners, it can be…

This article describes how one teacher implemented a memoir genre study in her sixth grade classroom using a writing workshop approach. It begins by outlining the author's philosophy and rationale for teaching writing in this manner. This is followed by a discussion of how one could organize one's classroom for a memoir genre study. Several…

This article describes two educational settings in Nigeria where teachers adapted a language experience approach for reading and writing instruction. The first setting is a professional development workshop for public school teachers of students in grades 1-6. The second setting includes two groups of students with special needs: a grade 6 class…

While writer's workshop provides a nurturing environment for many students, others struggle with the independence it gives. This may be due to the difficulty of coordinating the cognitive and self-regulatory demands of the writing process. Self-regulation refers to thoughts, feelings, and actions that individuals use to attain personal goals.…

Describes a writing program for sixth grade remedial students that was a reading program as well. Includes "how to" guidelines for successful process-conference instruction. (FL)

Describes how a middle-school teacher used "Charlotte's Web" in Reader's Theatre and in a writing workshop. Describes how the book was used as a writing model for dialog and for examining literary devices. (SR)

Describes a project that included prewriting activities based on the students' experiences, imaginative literature, encouragement to expand their descriptive ability, and opportunities to revise and edit their own work. (FL)

Describes a project in which students write their own notes, postcards, and invitations from storybook characters to other book characters. (SR)

Describes the progression of activities used in an astronomy unit that involved writing to learn and think. (FL)

Shows how teaching sixth grade ESL students the story grammar of fairy and folktales enabled them to learn to express themselves in their own fiction writing. (FL)

Describes a learning activity that helps children learn to combine the journalistic writing style found in newspaper headlines with the story structure of novels. (MG)

Describes how, through parent-student interactions in written homework assignments, the author (in her predominantly Hispanic American sixth-grade classroom) has successfully engaged parents in the literacy development of their children, brought parent voices into the classroom, and affirmed and appreciated the experiences, culture, and language…

Describes a Language Experience Approach (LEA) dictation given by sixth-grade remedial readers, and discusses some weaknesses in using LEA to teach remedial reading. Explains how LEA can be modified to produce a more effective model for reading comprehension and writing instruction. (MM)