Describes one teacher's methods for introducing to secondary English students the concepts of Classicism and Romanticism in relation to pictures of gardens, architecture, music, and literary works. Outlines how the unit leads to a writing assignment based on collected responses over time. (HB)

Examines questions concerning the assignment of autobiographical essays. Discusses the links between gender and genre. Argues that writing teachers should reexamine their assumptions about "good" autobiographical writing and acknowledge the links between gender and genre. (MG)

Describes how students wrestled with an assignment that asked them to name their heroes or heroines, compare them to "Beowulf," and defend their choices in writing and class discussion. Tells how students gained insight into their community and the ways in which people make it better. (MG)

Describes a method for teaching students how to write about literature that asks students to produce numerous "parts" in one large project. Provides a basic outline and explanation of the assigned tasks. (HB)

Describes how undergraduate secondary English education majors in a course on teaching writing defined and created the multigenre research paper, researching a topic and then writing a number of pieces that integrated and interpreted their findings. Notes students' enthusiasm, creativity and ownership; shows two student papers; and describes using…

Describes two assignments that help students realize the dialectic between parts (how one part affects the understanding of all other parts) by having students create their own photographs and physical structures, combine the parts in various way, and consider (in their written papers) the difference it makes. (SR)

Describes a writing program involving second/third grade students and a university language arts class. Discusses a thematic unit and associated writing activities on the themes of winter and poetry. Notes that both groups of students developed better clarity in their written work. (RS)

Offers an exercise to help students understand the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing and how both practices can result in plagiarism if the original source is not cited. Explains how the exercise uses Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." (TB)

Discusses aspects of the classroom environment that nurture young writers. Describes strategies and assignments (including cross-curricular poetry, a letter writing activity, multigenre papers, a tribute assignment, and a "read and retail" assignment) which helps students understand and develop voice. Notes that while students' writing…

Describes three types of reflective writing assignments the author uses in her high school writing classes to create better writers who are actively involved in their own learning. Draws distinctions among the three (a writer's log, a draft letter, and a portfolio letter) and discusses the methods she uses to promote quality written reflections.…

Describes a writing exercise with the "Oxford English Dictionary" that teaches students about research and attention to detail. Describes how the exercise, which involves the student in a set of serial tasks, makes students comfortable with the OED, teaches them how to extract full details of any word, and teaches students to take…

Presents a sequenced writing assignment on shopping to aid basic writers. Describes a writing assignment focused around online and mail-order shopping. Notes steps in preparing for the assignment, the sequence, and discusses responses to the assignments. (SC)

Considers how effective teacher feedback increases students' awareness of the choices they make in a piece of writing and enables them to discuss those choices with others. Describes the Comment to Comment assignment, an asynchronous written collaboration between teacher and student. Discusses the process of trial and error that the author went…

Studies the socialization processes of two writers new to an organization in terms of writing tasks, writers' social roles, and methods of socialization. Reveals 15 different writing roles depicting a continuum from novice to expert. Argues the implications of this study are relevant to current school-based approaches to writing instruction. (NH)

Argues that writing teachers ultimately need to view their prompts rhetorically. Argues that writing teachers should consider carefully the role that students have as audiences, writing audience responses to teachers' texts through their essays. Argues that a rhetorical analysis of the prompt will help students criticize the cues of a real-world…