The present study investigates if there is a positive effect of the use of concept mapping software on students with Attention Deficit (AD) when learning descriptive writing in the secondary level of education. It also examines what kind of difficulties AD students may have come across during this learning procedure. Sample students were selected…

Suggests ways to help students revise their written compositions by teaching them to "see" their work again. (DF)

Describes a writing assignment (useful for junior high through college age students) that seeks to improve students' descriptive writing through a set of class writing assignments using visual and concrete objects. Allows students to gain awareness, gain knowledge and discuss it, and ask questions as a body of learners rather than in isolation.…

Designed to combine the science and the art of teaching composition, this series of assignments encourages junior high and high school writing students to explore tone, original visual images, point of view, and other literary techniques. One assignment asks students to write a number of paragraphs alternately using sarcasm, humor, melancholy, and…

A consideration of real world language use yields five questions that could prove helpful in assessing student writing achievements: (1) What is the writer's purpose or intention? (2) What audience does the writer have in mind? (3) What are the organizing principles of the piece? (4) What range of experience and knowledge might one reasonably…

Maintains that the five-paragraph essay formula confuses and alienates students and undermines the basic goals of writing instruction. Advocates developing a repertoire of alternatives for teaching form. Suggests that using the metaphor of the essay as journey is one such teaching alternative. (SR)

An approach to teaching expository writing and research in support of that approach are presented in this book. The first section of the book discusses writing from given information, a technique by which teachers give students collections of nonverbal data (charts, graphs, maps, and other pictorial information) that the students must organize in…

Aimed at teachers interested in implementing student journals in their classrooms, this guide offers subjects students can write about and ideas for how to use journal writing as a classroom activity, and justifies writing across curriculum lines. The first section of the guide, entitled Mirrors, suggests that students can benefit from writing in…

A series of six related lessons is presented that covers the three stages of process writing in which secondary students work in pairs and groups. Covering 11 35-minute periods, the lessons include prewriting, writing, and postwriting. Sample questions are appended. (Contains five references.) (LB)

An activity unit for teaching students to identify and use imagery in writing is presented. Instructions to the teacher for introducing the unit are given along with a list of student objectives and definitions of imagery terms. The activities, some of which involve using locally available audiovisual media, include four introductory activities,…

Group activities in the classroom can be a useful way to explore various standard rhetorical patterns. For descriptive writing, students can select and write about unsigned collages made by classmates. The writer can try to find a unifying theme that characterizes the artist's personality. A narrative component can be added to descriptive writing…

Discusses the philosophy of publishing high school student writings in "English Journal," and calls for submissions. Prints a student short story, analyzes its merits, suggests ways to use it for teaching, and approaches to revision. (JG)

Discusses ways to empower students through writing, using their own voices, plumbing their own lives for stories, poems, and essays; and engaging them in dialogue with their peers about writing and literature. (RAE)

Offering activities for secondary school students and amateur creative writers, this book demonstrates how teachers can break out of "high culture" stereotypes that make students think poetry has no connection with real life. Part one discusses the essentials of poetry and the roles of poets from ancient oral cultures to the present. The…

Placing a major emphasis on writing activity, this guide provides information and suggestions for implementing the Writing Process Curriculum in secondary schools. Following sections on the philosophy, aim, goals, and objectives of the Writing Process Curriculum, the guide outlines the stages of writing in the third section, including descriptions…