Donald Graves's early professional books inspired Koshewa to look more deeply into student writing during the 1980s, and to value all phases of the writing process. Graves's perspective on uncovering and celebrating voice elevated Koshewa's writing instruction to a new plane. In this article, he writes about the impact that Donald Graves's work…

Cauley's books about snakes demonstrate intentional and interesting decisions by a beginning writer. The conclusion states that learning to choose topics for writing in thoughtful ways is an important part of the curriculum in writing workshop.

Suggests that children must be allowed their voices through writing. Discusses how four eighth-grade students turned life experiences into meaningful writing for the classroom. (RS)

Describes the process of teaching fourth graders to combine facts and narrative in writing a research report on animals. Asserts that this type of report writing increases students' understanding of their subject, and illustrates that research is an ongoing activity. (MM)

Discusses how a professional writer and teacher of writing helps children write better by incorporating specific images taken from their "screens"--the places where they see things in their heads. Presents numerous examples of students' poems. Notes the "screens" can also be used in writing stories or essays. (RS)

Argues that children's points of view shape knowledge in the classroom and are central to the development of children's writing and learning. Finds points of view by referring to examples of talk and writing; explains how cultural and personal factors come into play; and proposes that points of view become an explicit aspect of instruction,…

Examines the writing of sixth graders to explore the issue of writing competence. Discusses how form allows young writers to achieve control over a writing task. (MS)

States the importance of content in the process writing classroom. Demonstrates with "cultural texts" (texts about the daily realities of the students on topics of domesticity and family, violence, evolving sexuality, and future aspirations) that not only how children write, but also what they write about, is of critical importance in helping them…

Describes five specific tools that provide the author's seventh-grade students with a set of easily accessible options for revising their writing. (SR)

Recommends that teachers look for and value the freshness, naivete, humor, and wisdom in children's writing. Samples of children's writing are provided to illustrate these traits. (AEA)

Suggests that discussions on approaching poetry must begin with addressing the role of the classroom teachers and the attitudes about poetry that they bring to the classroom. Discusses a few general suggestions as to how poetry may be approached in the classroom. Discusses a poetry writing sequence which helps students explore images and…

Describes an inventive way of promoting children's literacy learning: having them design picture books, including in the process, aspects more typically associated with illustrators, book designers, and art directors. Describes one child's creation of three different books. (SR)

Uses observations of three students' and two teachers' use of metaphors in process writing instruction to shed light on the role of talk in writing development. Finds that metaphors can be complex, interesting, and thought-provoking; and all students developed a shared understanding with teachers despite differences in background. (SR)

Reflects on how the author's third-grade students, experienced in literary conversation from their reading workshop, transferred the practice of literary conversation to their writing workshop. (SR)

Reports on dialogue journals as effective writing tasks which bridge the gap between spoken conversation and the traditional tasks of essay and report writing. Suggests that the use of dialogue journals improve classroom management and discipline, while creating an individual tutorial relationship of both an academic and personal nature. (MM)