First-grade children's reading, writing, and spelling competencies in 2 different instructional contexts for teaching phonics were examined. Reading, writing, and spelling abilities were measured at the beginning, middle, and end of 1st grade. Children were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments designed to teach grapheme-phoneme correspondences,…

This study looks at a specific application of Ainsworth's conceptual framework for learning with multiple representations in the context of using multiple sequential graphic organizers that are student-generated for a process-writing task. Process writing refers to writing that consists of multiple drafts. It may be a process of re-writing without…

This study explored, with both experimental and correlational designs, the roles of (a) authentic, communicatively functional reading and writing and (b) the explicit explanation of genre function and features on growth in genre-specific reading and writing abilities of children in grades two and three. The genres used for this exploration were…

This study examined whether informal medical assessments could be used by classroom teachers to assess fine-motor ability and if there is any connection between fine-motor ability and reading achievement. Subjects were 174 half-day kindergarten children from whole-language classrooms in three states. Subjects were pretested in October and…

This study compared the written products of four groups of 26 male students in grades 4-6, including 8 students identified as gifted, 6 learning-disabled/gifted, 6 learning-disabled, and 6 normal. The Test of Written Language-2 was administered and seven subtest scores were compared among the four groups. In general, the speculation that…

Two studies involving 60 graduate and undergraduate students explored the role of structured imagination in story creation. Results indicate representational knowledge was an important influence on story meaning and originality and that meaningful and original stories were more likely to contain abstract concepts than were nonmeaningful and…

A range of metaphors composed by gifted elementary children are presented and discussed in terms of what they indicate about their personal worlds, special talents, and emotional insights. The approach to creative writing described in the article also has the potential to assist with the identification of linguistic talent. (Contains references.)…

This article presents the case of Geoffrey, a prolific 5-year-old writer. It examines his writing and how his intrapersonal factors and propitious environment contribute to his prodigious output. Childhood precocity is presented as an age-based comparable rather than as an adult-based predictor. A developmental theory of precocity is considered.…

Proposes that the multigenre concept can be a major force in developing writing ability and writing enthusiasm in students. Notes that the point of a multigenre paper is to convey a unified message which is reflected not only in the content of the individual elements, but also in how they work together. Proposes that if this necessary unity is not…

Determines whether French immersion programs result in detrimental effects on the ability of children in such programs to read and write in English. Finds that writing in English and French is fairly comparable across languages and that there is a transfer of processing behavior across languages. (MG)

Differences in girls' and boys' writing are felt to stem from cultural experiences relating to their reading and viewing. The aim of teachers should not be to produce degendered narrative but to encourage the complementary components of assertiveness, reflectiveness, and awareness of opposed values in both boys' and girls' writing. (JDD)

Traditional Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals focusing on mastery of skills taught in isolation are inappropriate for primary-level whole-language classrooms containing children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Sample goals and objectives that measure students' growing ability to read and write are presented. (JDD)

Examines the writing of a four-year-old child in response to literature. Discusses the child's uses for writing and the concepts and principles of early writing. Demonstrates the child's engagement with children's books. (RS)

Describes how the school literary journal can be used to publish students' writing about public affairs to add new dimensions to the journal and transform it to a comprehensive display of students' interests and writing abilities. (MG)

Notes that research and clinical studies have identified many relationships between various oral language processes and written language. Provides overview of findings regarding auditory receptive and expressive language processes, including phonemic discrimination, linguistic awareness, listening comprehension, word retrieval, syntax,…