This article is an historical study of the understanding of children's writing through "Language Arts". The author and her research team did a content analysis of articles about writing that appeared in "Language Arts" beginning in 1924 through January, 2010. Analysis shows that a major area of tension throughout the history of…

Standards can aid educators as they work to produce strong student writers who can create meaningful and skillfully crafted authentic pieces of writing. This once-a-month, yearlong professional development program, conducted during the school day, shifted a district's kindergarten writing program to a writing workshop model that enabled the…

Writing is difficult for students who are learning English, as they often struggle to express what they really want to say. Writing is difficult for their teachers, too, who often struggle to respond in ways that are helpful. In this article, the authors offer an approach that looks at students' writing from a functional linguistics perspective,…

Argues that the English Only Movement is misguided. Points out advantages of bilingual education and literacy in their native languages for students who begin their schooling with little or no knowledge of English. (SKC)

Examines notions and examples of instruction that can inhibit language growth, arguing that reading and writing curricula can be designed so that children are provided the freedom to explore language and grow as language learners in much the same way they learned oral language. (HTH)

Presents case studies of two first-grade children, examining their writing as a linguistic and social process that involves the child in an exploration of both oral and written language within the social context of the classroom. (HTH)

Presents three basic tenets of the language across the curriculum philosophy: that language develops primarily through its purposeful use, that learning often involves and occurs through talking and writing, and that language use contributes to cognitive development. Discusses important practical implications these principles have for effective…

Discusses a model for teaching reading and writing in which skilled language users provide support for new language activities in context. Gives examples of typical classroom activities that provide too little or too much support for natural language growth and of activities with a balanced instructional "scaffolding." (HTH)

Five educational leaders--Millie Almy, Carolyn Burke, Jean Berko Gleason, Donald M. Murray, and Neil Postman--offer reflections on significant developments of the 1970s in the areas of reading and writing, their hopes for the 1980s, and references that constitute required reading for elementary language arts teachers. (ET)

Discusses materials in the ERIC system that deal with the concept of scaffolding, building on children's natural language, and ways teachers have translated the concept into instructional strategies. (HTH)

Examines the state of the art of research on how spelling should be taught in the schools, the nature of spelling ability, and implications for teaching and further research. (HTH)

Explores the transition of several children from spoken language to beginning writing. (HTH)

Discusses the deficiencies of the various methods of evaluating children's writing, especially the writing of children for whom English is not the native language. (FL)

Presents the opposing viewpoints on grammar study, phonics and whole language instruction, and the role of information in English language arts. (SRT)

Describes a study of the development of reading and writing skills in hearing impaired children indicating that both hearing and hearing impaired students can best be instructed in reading when the reading has meaning for them and with stories they choose themselves and with dictations taken from their own experience. (HTH)