Award-winning author Carolyn Coman has made a career out of writing stories for children and young adults as well as teaching writing to people of all ages. She believes that the essence of good writing, no matter the genre, is the ability to craft a solid story. In this innovative book, Carolyn provides advice, strategies, and inspiration…

To teach writing well, teachers need three things: first, they have to understand writing itself, as well as writing pedagogy; second, they need to be writers themselves; and third, they need to know how to communicate their knowledge about writing effectively to their students. This book is based on the premise that writing ability--and teaching…

Intended for elementary school teachers in all subject areas wanting to learn more about what is known concerning the teaching of writing, this book summarizes numerous presentations made over the past four years by the many teacher/consultants working with the Bay Area Writing Project. Following introductory materials, the first section of the…

Sixty consequential writing tasks are described in this source book to help elementary and secondary school students develop their abilities in written composition. The activities foster thinking by posing game-like writing problems that require students to use their minds in the ways that good writers do, and to solve the problems that good…

Based on the authors' classroom work and observations since the 1930s, this book is intended to help teach children to write correctly and, at the same time, help them learn to enjoy writing so much that they will want to continue writing throughout their lives. The book offers classroom teachers, school library media specialists, curriculum…

Methods of eliciting writing from children are explored in this monograph, which includes samples of nine- and ten-year-old students' writing. The monograph offers four recommendations for improving writing skills: make writing a daily activity; take children's writing seriously; maintain flexible standards of form and language; and identify group…

This handbook provides background information, ideas for classroom instruction, and suggestions for reflective practice for teachers of literacy and bilingual students. All approaches described here encourage the integration of all language skills in teaching literacy. An introductory chapter examines the principles and processes of literacy…

Collected from classroom teachers across the United States, this idea exchange presents teaching activities that enliven the secondary school language arts classroom, engage student interest, and help teachers reflect on their teaching as part of their continued professional growth. The activities are divided into four sections: (1) literature,…

Based on the idea that a healthier, saner and more creative classroom is possible, this book presents an extended case study of the behavior of two fourth grade girls, focusing on their writing. The book argues that the data gathered from observing students can lead to changes in the classroom and improved teaching practices by providing teachers…

The 31 articles presented in this book illustrate the success of initiating structure in English classrooms, at both the secondary and the college levels. Reflecting the notion that clear guidelines and explicit expectations--greater structure--will help both teacher and student work toward common educational goals, the articles are arranged in…

The ten lessons in this guide outline objectives and activities that will help gifted students to write intelligibly and creatively and to read with understanding and appreciation. Each of the lessons focuses on an aspect of literature, such as story line, building toward a climax, how plot is influenced by theme, characterization, tone,…

The teaching of critical thinking is discussed, based on the view that methods of teaching critical thinking vary from discipline to discipline. After covering basic concepts related to teaching critical thinking, a framework to examine the process of critical thinking is presented, based on cognitive science and developmental theory, especially…

The textbook for students of intermediate English as a Second Language (ESL) is based on cross-cultural communication misunderstandings described in essays written by university students. It consists of 20 instructional units, each beginning with a real student's dilemma caused by cultural differences and each dealing with one particular custom.…