It is observed that individuals have problems in written expression in the Turkish education system, and a permanent solution can not be developed to solve these problems. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to determine the problems of prospective Turkish teachers in paragraph creation. This research was carried out in the…

This study highlights a cross-course collaboration around children's literature and grammar in one teacher preparation program. Pre-service teachers created digital picture books and video feedback for their peers in which they ultimately adopted shifting stances in thinking like readers and writers throughout their process. By situating reading…

This study explored whether presenting grammar instruction within the context of reading and writing would improve writing skills. The participating schools were using a traditional grammar instruction in which grammar lessons were predominately taught using worksheets and were presented separately from other reading and writing activities. This…

Describes ERIC as an up-to-date database that has relatively few items that center on conventions and mechanics, and yet there are hundreds of citations including ERIC descriptors such as spelling, grammar, and syntax. Presents a seven-item annotated bibliography of journal articles and books (published in ERIC between 1991 and 1993). (PA)

Presents an assignment in which students are instructed to produce a complete, accurate, and readable collection of rules and sentences that illustrates the multiple uses of each mark of punctuation, in other words, to write their own workbooks. (EL)

An elementary school unit on punctuation skills is divided into nine sections. Section 1 contains a pretest which is repeated in section 9 as a posttest. Section 2 consists of a series of punctuation mark caricatures to put on the classroom bulletin board. Sections 3 through 7 contain material on the following topics: end of sentence punctuation,…

Dictation in the language arts class most often involves lists of isolated spelling words. However, in France and in other European countries, the dictation of literary passages is a common activity in the language arts class and appears to be of great interest and benefit to students. Among the values of such dictation are the following: students…

A computer-assisted analysis was conducted of the punctuation skills taught in nine series of language arts textbooks. Each text was subjected to a detailed, page-by-page analysis of instructional content, resulting in a content-specific analysis of punctuation instruction at each grade level. The results indicated significant differences among…

Ideas for incorporating five essential writing skills, identified by the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills, into elementary social studies courses are presented. These include spelling, organizing ideas in writing, a knowledge of standard punctuation and capitalization, ability to control sentence structure, and use of legible handwriting for…

Elementary school teachers acknowledge the need for better writing instruction, but seldom have time for it within their already crowded curricula. Writing instruction suffers from placing skills development before writing activities, from emphasis on reading, and because many teachers are not well prepared to teach writing. A low priority is…

This investigation sought to determine if a planned program in personal writing might be effective in teaching the language arts tasks of intermediate grade children. Examined were the effects of the personal writing treatment upon word meaning, paragraph meaning, spelling, language, writing, and attitudes toward reading. One experimental and one…

Developed to increase student ability to communicate effectively in a growing range of situations, this kindergarten through grade eight writing and speaking program is based on clusters of instructional and performance objectives for each grade level. The guide begins with a discussion of the goals of education, a point of view about language…

A TEACHER'S EXPERIENCE IN GUIDING A GROUP OF 40 FOURTH-GRADERS IN WRITING A BOOK IS REPORTED, AND THE BOOK IS INCLUDED. PROVIDED ARE DESCRIPTIONS OF--(1) THE STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS OF WRITING EACH CHAPTER OF THE BOOK, (2) THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDENTS'"OWN ENGLISH BOOK"--RULES FOR USAGE, SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, AND CAPITALIZATION,…

A teacher's experience in guiding a group of 40 fourth-graders in writing a book is reported, and the book is included. Provided are descriptions of--(1) the step-by-step process of writing each chapter of the book, (2) the development of the students'"own English book"--rules for usage, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, discovered by the…

Designed for use within language arts programs as well as in the content areas, this handbook provides a continuum of activities for developing writing skills in grades five through twelve. The activities, arranged according to a diagnostic grid sheet provided for evaluation of student progress, offer practice in perception of task (point of view…