Teaching and learning literacy in the early years can be a joyful, explorative and meaningful experience. This accessible book will give teachers and practitioners the practical and theoretical skills and knowledge they require to successfully and confidently teach reading, writing and oral skills in the early years classroom. Foregrounding the…

College students in the non-English-speaking world have to overcome formidable barriers in reading and writing when their medium of instruction is English. One particular problem faced by science majors is the writing of lab reports, a demanding task that might not be effectively supported by the standard guides and manuals available. This paper…

Describes a self-conference sheet used by a history professor to help students improve their research papers. Includes a sample sheet with questions for students to consider when revising their papers. Provides additional suggestions for evaluating first drafts and examining title, thesis, and explanation of the major point. (DK)

Lists 16 questions for eliciting student writing. (JT)

This packet is the second of five developed as a set of self-appraisal instruments with which teachers (and others) can systematically examine their instruction methods in communication skills. The packet contains forms for teachers, students, administrators, and parents addressing two levels of specificity: responses to the overall communication…

Describes and compares the major approaches to organizing a writing course, classifying them under the following four terms: traditional modes, process, epistemic, and stylistic. Discusses the basic tenets of each teaching philosophy, suggests appropriate textbooks, and identifies various ways of implementing these approaches in the classroom. (JG)

Autobiographies are useful in teaching middle school reading and writing since middle school students tend to focus on topics about themselves and their place in the world. Autobiographies offer a powerful mechanism for self-reflection. This paper presents activities demonstrating how to use autobiography to motivate students to express their…

Examines the debate between two approaches to teaching writing: imitation of classic models versus technical writing for the real world. Argues that, in either approach, a developmental sequence of assignments is paramount. Describes compromise course plan based on careers, in which students write research papers about vocations in which they are…

To help students write more effectively, a technique for writing from thesis statements is described that requires students to create a picture of a wheel. The hub is a word that is the essence of the topic; the spokes are concrete examples; and the tire is the thesis statement. (MLW)

Outlines a revision checklist for student use in analyzing purpose, audience, form, and expression; summarizes classroom procedures for individuals, small groups, or whole classes to use in revision and proofreading exercises. (AEA)

Provides a mini-unit on editorial writing for journalism advisers to use directly with staff members in an independent study situation. (TJ)

Describes and flowcharts the process of writing a resume to help students to write more orderly and logically. Includes steps beginning with the personal inventory and ending with the final copy. (PRA)

Intended for use by students, this illustrated Australian classroom unit was designed to encourage young people to develop a lifelong habit of letter writing. The booklet begins with a letter to children from the Australian "Post," and excerpts from two poems about letter writing. A section on how letters can link the world emphasizes…

Elementary teachers can use folktales to teach story structure. After students read a folktale, they can brainstorm for story ideas, create and revise outlines and drafts, edit their stories in pairs, complete a final version, then construct and illustrate a book. A student page teaches how to plan a folktale. (SM)

Noting that tutor training remains a persistent concern of writing center administrators, this paper contains the transcript of a tutor training videotape produced by the writing center at Merrimack College (Massachusetts) to augment the center's tutor training. The main parts of the tape transcript are titled (1) "Be Attentive"; (2)…