In England, 14 elementary teachers in 7 schools collaborated on research to develop children's reflective writing by observing each other and cooperatively evaluating data. Techniques such as modeling, demonstrating text features, and focusing group discussion increased children's metacognitive awareness of good writing and helped them gain…

Elementary students can become good editors by using editing skills during the writing process. Teachers must present and repeat editing topics in minilessons, provide reminders of particular skills that were addressed, teach students to use editing resources, and expect students to develop proper usage gradually. (SM)

Presents and explains a framework that can be used to determine the potential authenticity of teaching practices. Describes the potential for authenticity offered by thematic literacy instruction. (SR)

Concludes that handwriting instruction improves writing ability because students who have mastered the basic skills of handwriting are able to concentrate on the process of composition rather than transcription. (SRT)

Compared to placebo controls, 28 individuals treated with Piracetam (a new drug thought to enhance learning and memory consolidation) showed statistically significant improvements above baseline scores on measures of effective reading accuracy and comprehension, reading speed, and writing accuracy. The medication was well tolerated and showed no…

Argues that it is a mistake to aim for equality of performance in English because boys and girls are literate in different ways and need to play to their greatest strengths while at the same time widening their repertoire. Suggests that teachers should guide boys away from replicating restricted narrative modes. (TB)

Shares two examples of writing, both involving magic and incantation, used as models to help students add energy to their own writing. (MG)

Describes how one teacher/poet communicates to students the feeling of spontaneity and ease with language, a similar sense of poetry as activity, gesture, and flight, and the notion that both words and sounds carry poetic meaning while letting students know it is acceptable to explore on paper while creating poetry. (MG)

Provides a paragraph frame as an organizational guide for developing reports from nonfiction children's magazines. (MG)

Describes a simple writing process to help students become more effective writers in which students, by writing one sentence at a time on a single strip of paper, learn how to write a paragraph. (SR)

Examined the development of students' handwriting speed and legibility. Diverse students in grades one through nine completed three writing tasks (copying, writing a narrative, and writing an essay). Researchers measured their speed and legibility. Results indicated that handwriting speed and legibility did not follow a parallel course of…

Organizes instructional strategies into two sets: the first focusing on teaching editing skills, and the second on teaching writing conventions unconventionally. Considers teaching writing conventions using a social constructivist approach. Presents instructional approaches that provide a framework for helping students to express their ideas…

In this article, the author, who teaches at an elementary school in an area where 96% of the students live below the poverty level and many families have few or no reading materials in their homes, describes how her school has managed to create a climate in which children find joy and self-expression through the writing of poetry. The school's…

Suggests that teachers who draw on literature as they engage children in the writing process provide a rich and reliable source of knowledge. (DF)

Voices concerns with isolated exercises in grammar. Offers an alternative, in which teachers collect sentences (mostly from literature) and use them to point out or teach skills for writers. Offers numerous examples. (SR)