This brief paper summarizes research on effective instruction in writing for students with learning disabilities. It finds that three components stand out as methods that reliably and consistently lead to improved outcomes in teaching expressive writing to these students. These components are: (1) adhering to a basic framework of planning,…

The teaching of writing to students who speak nonstandard English can be difficult because students' linguistic differences rarely indicate true incompetence, and students' writing problems may result from conflicts between the cultures and language uses at home and school. Factors found to encourage writing improvement are the following: (1)…

An increasing number of U.S. high school graduates enter college while still in the process of learning English. Referred to as generation 1.5 students because they share characteristics of both first- and second-generation immigrants, they do not fit into any of the traditional categories of nonnative English speakers enrolled in college writing…

Some of the major reading and writing practices currently in use in adult English-as-a-Second-Language programs are described in this digest. Reading activities for such learners are similar to those used in adult basic education classes. At the beginning level, students dictate stories to the teacher or give an oral account of an experience.…

Writing instruction reflects a growing appreciation of the value of talk. By implementing peer writing groups, teachers encourage students to give, seek, and react to oral feedback among themselves as they write, in addition to reacting to the teacher's traditional comments on finished papers. Collaboration in writing groups provides writers with…

Journals have a long history as a means of self-expression, and they can be used as learning tools in adult education. Types of journals include the reader response journal or literature log, the learning journal, the reflective journal, and the electronic journal. Journal writing offers several benefits for adult learners: journals are less…

This digest examines changes that are involved in an elementary school library media program when the school's instructional methods move from a basic skills to a whole language approach. These changes are discussed in terms of three curricular foci--theme studies, process writing, and literature-based reading--and new demands that are placed on…