Although writing plays an important role in the academic, psychosocial, and economic success of individuals, typical writing instruction and assessment in the United States generally does not reflect evidence-based practices. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) place a great deal of emphasis on written expression and may encourage an increased…

Provides suggestions to teachers planning to implement a whole language program, based on interviews with three whole language teachers. Focuses on support for the whole language program; decisions about curriculum and evaluation; development of vocabulary and comprehension; strengths and weaknesses of the whole language approach; and preparation…

Discusses some of the theoretical and practical issues concerning initial writing instruction in kindergarten and first grade. (BB)

The anchor of successful writing-across-the-curriculum programs is an organized nucleus of features called the four Ps: planning, proposing, preparing, and prototyping. Planning requires organization and connections among the mechanisms of designing and implementing both program activities and evaluation designs. It should begin at least two years…

According to researchers Herriott and Gross in their book "The Dynamics of Planned Educational Change," educational innovations fail because administrators (1) fail to diagnose problems correctly, (2) fail to anticipate and resolve implementation problems, (3) adopt an "ad hoc" approach to educational innovation, (4) accept…

A review of research indicates that current beginning reading practices typically emphasize discrete skills that fail to take advantage of young children's emergent literacy abilities. Suggestions for strengthening the match between young children's emergent literacy and instructional experiences are offered. (RH)

Offers suggestions for developing and implementing a plan to integrate microcomputers in higher education humanities curricula. Ways to introduce faculty to microcomputers and have them devise methods and applications for classroom use are explained. Specific software packages useful for writing instruction are discussed. (Author/MBR)

Discusses writing projects, studies of implementation and teacher change, and mirrors of change which point to the state of the art in language arts. (RS)

This paper discusses monitoring the school literacy program. Teachers make many educational decisions about how reading and writing should be taught in the classroom. Some teachers makes these decisions intuitively, but a systematic process of monitoring is more effective. When teachers monitor the school's literacy program, they track the reading…

Although to speak of achieving the ideal writing center is to entertain a most romantic notion, there are steps that can be taken to improve the quality of a college or university writing center. The mission of the writing center, which may vary from school to school, must be clearly established. The organization of the center should be examined.…

Continuing problems, troubling trends, and many opportunities face writing-across-the-curriculum planners in the future. Proponents must continue to believe in the benefits of writing-across-the-curriculum programs and widen and intensify networks of support. (MSE)

Shares the author's experience as a third-grade teacher coping for two years with the changes in her classroom brought about by the schoolwide implementation of a comprehensive reading program called Success For All (SFA). Describes how she tries to incorporate what she believes to be effective without compromising the program's implementation.…

Practices for improving adolescent literacy--which includes reading, writing, and speaking--are much discussed and debated among secondary school educators and researchers. At Discovery Middle School in Madison, Alabama, the debate has ended after teachers and administrators implemented several practices that elevated student achievement from…