Describes how a fourth-grade teacher made poetry part of the daily ritual of her class. Describes how students began to read poems, write poems, and love poems enough to work persistently at reading and writing them. Describes a poetry festival that the class prepared. Describes the many effects, both cognitive and affective, of daily poetry. (SR)

Surveys instructors and students regarding what they believe students learn and what writing skills they improve by completing business report writing assignments. Finds that business communication instructors reported greater improvement in students' skills than students reported for themselves. Offers four guidelines for closing this gap.…

Argues that the rigidity of the five paragraph theme actually dissuades students from practicing the rhetorical analysis necessary for them to become critical thinkers. Suggests that English teachers continue to teach the essay as a rhetorical form with three units, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, which may consist of more than one…

Describes storytelling and imagemaking activities used in The Stories Project to provide a guide for teachers who wish to promote the development of oral and written language through storymaking--the process of making a story from a story. Finds that most students, regardless of ability, and given the right encouragement and support, discover they…

Combining the journal writing process with the concepts of collaboration can produce more focused writing and learning. Through the channel of collaborative situations, such as group journal writing, teachers can capitalize on the benefits achieved from the collaborative process and cultivate thinking and writing skills. A group journal writing…

To force students--at the very beginning of the writing process--to be aware of audience and to gain insight into their own writing, in-class writing and sharing exercises can be invaluable. For example, students can present to the class their subject for an upcoming paper, with the class responding on paper to such questions as: (1) What do you…

Describes ways to help students of all ages with writing apprehension, including write more; discourage appropriation of voice; listen to fearful writers; find patterns in students' errors; conference during drafting stages; coach peers for effective response; encourage positive self-talk; be aware of possible gender differences; vary writing…

Describes a writing assignment which allows students to exercise creativity communicating set facts while utilizing narrative techniques covered in class (sentence variety, dominant impressions, narrative action, detailing, etc.), and in which peers judge how effectively and consistently the information was communicated, illuminating the…

Describes a series of exercises the author developed to help college writers identify wordiness, reword, and revise carefully. Notes that these lessons build from simple recognition and repair to writing a 100-word piece. Concludes that many students choose this series of assignments as their favorite semester activity and one that influences how…

Examines students' responses and comments on facilitative (helping the student rethink a paper analytically) versus directive commentary (teacher suggestions made in an authoritative manner). Argues that directive commentary has several legitimate uses and that its judicious use can coax students into writing stronger text. (SR)

Recounts observations of a second grader's writing processes and concludes that students' enjoyment of writing should be cultivated. (DF)

Shows how writing business letters to companies can produce results and spur classroom interest in writing as well. (EL)

Suggests that students can become motivated and engaged to improve their writing through guided interactions that target their affective, social, and cognitive capabilities. Presents fictional case scenarios developed from first- and second-year college students' comments about their writing to help students assess their perspectives on writing,…

Describes how to increase student motivation and awareness of audience by assigning a formal report they design, research, and write while they are enrolled in the technical writing course. (CRH)

Providing an overview of some of the effective ways of helping students to develop and improve their spelling skills, this book emphasizes the importance of explicit teaching. The first chapter considers current issues and perspectives in spelling. The second chapter discusses how children acquire spelling skills, and the third chapter discusses…