Suggesting that students can be independent thinkers and writers, this book helps teachers implement an effective factual thinking and writing program into elementary, middle, and high schools. It demonstrates six different models of factual writing: narratives, procedures, descriptions, reports, explanations, and arguments. An introduction is…

The electronic text program described in this lesson plan guides students to compare and contrast the characteristics of electronic text with the characteristics of traditionally printed text, gaining a deeper understanding of how to navigate and comprehend information found on the Internet. During a 30 minute and a 45 minutes lesson, students…

Reflecting the concerns of researchers and practitioners about children's text comprehension, this book defines and provides examples of narrative and expository text and describes research-based strategies for helping children comprehend these two types of text. The book contains the following chapters: (1) "Research on Stories: Implications…

Noting that little in language can be understood without taking into consideration the wider picture of communicative purpose, content, context, and audience, this book address practical uses of various approaches to discourse analysis. Several assumptions run through the chapters: knowledge is socially constructed; the manner in which language…

This article reviews recent projects using text structures and the writing process as frameworks to guide the composition dialogue. Learning-disabled students' attitudes toward writing as a required skill rather than a means of expression are confronted in the emphasis on dialogue. Several blank forms for organizing prewriting thoughts are…

This booklet contains examples of units of work for teaching children in Year 6 as part of the National Literacy Strategy. The seven units are drawn from all three terms in Year 6. Some of the units were written for the Year 6 Exemplification booklets in 2001-2002 and are reproduced in this publication with supplementary resources and/or guidance.…

The eight units of work in this document are designed to complement existing literacy booster units. Each unit is based on teaching objectives from the National Literacy Strategy Framework. They have been produced with the help of Year 5 teachers and have been trialled with pupils in a range of schools. The units support teachers' work with Year 5…

Drawing on stories from classrooms, examples of student writing, and illustrations, this book explains in practical terms the theoretical underpinnings of how elementary school students learn to write from their reading. Beginning with the concepts that underlie how writing teachers teach students to write by studying other writers, it goes on to…

Six instructional design principles are recommended to enable students with learning disabilities to comprehend and compose expository materials. The instructional principles are illustrated using the compare/contrast text structure. Charts provide examples and clarification of the strategies. (SW)