Designed as a practical reference book that can be useful to readers in any writing situation, this handbook offers guidance for writing assignments across the curriculum as well as help in writing resumes, letters, and scholarship, college, and job applications. The handbook describes the 10 common methods for developing any kind of writing and…

The development of narrative competence is an important part of the English curriculum in the early secondary school years. A study examined how four seventh-grade girls (two novice and two expert writers) responded to computer-based metacognitive guidance in the form of procedural facilitations. The facilitations were designed to assist the…

This guide, made up of transparencies and text, offers a basis for a 2-day interactive inservice presentation on how to teach writing, to help a school district ensure that its English language arts program addresses the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test. In addition to sections on the use of the guide and the format of the TAAS…

A seven-step process helps students writing research papers distinguish between what they already know before they do any research and what they find out, and also avoids cut-and-paste, redeye, and plagiarized research papers. Students first narrate the story of the research process (which will be the structural spine of the paper) and then go…

A study examined whether teachers in different personality type groups respond to student writing in different, possibly predictable ways. Nine teaching assistants at Florida State University responded to student essays and took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which measures several personality preferences. Using the MBTI scores, the…

This study examined 27 current college textbooks on rhetoric and composition to determine the emphasis placed on invention and the organization of invention material. Results revealed that the average percentage of material devoted to invention was 11%, the lowest percentage in an individual text was 1% and the highest was 32%. The standard…

Arguing that parents can make a big difference, this six-panel leaflet presents simple and fun strategies parents can use to help their children learn to write well. The leaflet points out that children should have a good place to write, the proper materials, sufficient time, and response and praise from their parents. Strategies discussed in the…

Emphasizing that Literacy Links is a program for young children with little exposure to literacy activities at home, the book explains exactly how Literacy Links works to provide the background knowledge these children need to succeed. The book offers strategies to help literacy-deprived young learners. The book's educator/author has found that…

This book presents strategies for teaching the personal narrative, feature article, how-to article, and persuasive letter, and for teaching fiction and reflective thinking and writing. It includes definitions, lesson plans, originals for transparencies and photocopies, and sample student writing. The first four sections are: Teaching the Personal…

This action research is designed to help students improve their writing skills and their confidence in themselves as writers. The targeted population is third graders in a suburban Chicago, Illinois elementary school. Evidence of the need to improve writing skills exists through teacher observation and evaluation of student writing, and scores on…

Beginning a new school year can be a daunting task for any teacher. This book, the work of an experienced teacher, advances the Overnight Book Program as the core of the literacy curriculum. According to the book, everything developing readers and writers need to understand literacy can be learned easily and joyfully by taking books home to share…

This guide contains a detailed, six-section curriculum that frames the debate over Mark Twain's novel "Huck Finn," asks students to think critically about it, and helps them to see the novel in a richer historical and literary context. The first section introduces students to the history of the controversy surrounding "Huck…

This paper provides a case study of a school-wide action research project to increase student learning in a rural intermediate school. First, it provides background information on the action research model and notes such challenges as the difficulty in providing teachers with a "coaching" style of professional development and the…

This paper advocates a pragmatist approach to teaching the composition of academic discourse. It discusses teaching directly the conflicting positions of academic discourse as elitist jargon or as key to advanced conceptualization. The suggested pedagogical method involves the examination of academic discourse in general, and the procedure of…

This handbook guides teachers through nine workshops designed to share strategies for success on writing tests. The workshops in the handbook give practical ideas that can be implemented in the elementary classroom to set the stage for test success without compromising children's growth as writers. Following a foreword by Michael R. Sampson and…