A practicum was designed to motivate primary students to increase the quantity and improve the quality of their writing. Publication of student works was the prime motivating factor. Other objectives were to develop in students a more positive attitude toward writing and gain the agreement of teachers that the publishing of their students' written…

This report describes a program to increase intermediate students' interest in writing through the integration of technology. The targeted population consisted of fifth grade students at a medium sized elementary school in the suburb of a large midwestern city. The problem was the low level of student interest in classroom writing activities. The…

Based on the idea that parents are the first and most important teachers of their children's literacy, this booklet offers 101 practical and fun-to-do activities that children and parents can do together. The activities in the booklet are organized to fit the way parents tend to think about their time with their children: in the nursery; at…

Presents information learned from the planning and implementation of a Writer's Academy. Describes structures for writing as well as six useful lessons learned pertaining to: (1) teacher conferences; (2) peer conferences; (3) exploring the world; (4) writing with students; (5) valuing the process and the product to address national standards; and…

Appraises and provides validity evidence on the reliability of secondary students' scores on attitudes toward writing as measured by the Daly and Miller Writing Apprehension Scale (WAS) and the Attitudes toward Writing with the Computer Scale (ATWCS). Concludes that students' attitudes toward writing and toward writing with the computer can be…

This article describes how collaboration affects the writing process and reports on an experiment involving the use of group and individual journals concurrently in an upper-division college writing course for prospective teachers. It was found that group journals engendered more careful attention to writing performance and greater comprehension…

Evaluated third graders' preferences for reading and writing tasks. Found that students frequently exposed to high-challenge tasks preferred them because they felt creative, experienced positive emotions, and worked hard. Those with less exposure to high-challenge questioned whether they had the appropriate metacognitive ability to complete them.…

Examines reasons for the resistance and resentment of many student athletes to working with writing tutors. Discusses successful intervention strategies for dealing with counter-productive behavior. Argues that the resultant learning not only enriches the athletes, but the entire academic community, since their stories are a tremendous asset for…

Identified preferred writing topics for 600 students in grades, 4, 6, and 8 and gender markers used to identify authors of 9 stories written by other students. Found that students situated girls' writing within primary territory; viewed girls as more competent, conscientious writers than boys; and associated the presence of violence with male…

Used writing samples, informal observations, and formal interviews and observations over 6 weeks to document a 4-year-old's emergent writing process. Found that the subject made the transition from the pre-phonetic to the semi-phonetic writing stages at an early age. Also found that young children's low tolerance level for frustration has…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a method for improving the writing skills and attitude through increased writing experiences. The targeted population consisted of second-, third-, and fourth-grade students in two adjacent, stable, middle-class suburban communities northwest of Chicago, Illinois. The lack of skills and motivation of…

An 18-month study examined the impact of word processors on the teaching and learning of writing in an area school on the South Island of New Zealand, with a special focus upon the writing development of 9 primary school children ranging in age from 8 years 11 months to 11 years 8 months. A wide range of data was collected on each pupil, including…

This paper considers the relationship between the "context of a situation" and the "metaphorically construed" reality within the transitivity paradigm of Systemic Functional Grammar. The research employed the transitivity model advanced by K. Davidse (1992) to examine the discourse of Japanese wartime (World War II) reporting…

A study investigated how literature-based reading/language arts materials were being used in two "exemplary" third/fourth grade combination classes, the influence of teacher epistemology on classroom instruction, and whether teachers were enacting the whole language emphasis mandated by the state. One of the two participating teachers…

A crossnational study compared secondary school boys' and girls' social (individual attitudinal, and family) and linguistics (type/frequency of oral conversations and test related activities) experience, and their relation to differential writing performance. Subjects included more than 1000 secondary students in their final year of compulsory…