How can teachers bring out the author (or graphic novelist, filmmaker, songwriter . . . ) in every student? "Mentoring Youth Writers" outlines six strategies to engage and inspire secondary students and guide them into writing as an authentic and meaningful practice: (1) exploring multimodal forms of writing; (2) inviting choice; (3)…

Due to negative classroom experiences, lack of resources and access, the fear of the unknown, and at times a disconnect, students are often fearful of literacy learning (reading, writing)--and in some cases outright bored. This piece highlights a variation of Childs' "C.O.U.N.T." acronym, which addresses ways in which teachers can infuse…

This study explores the pivotal role of authentic writing experiences in early childhood education by examining preschool educators' beliefs. Utilizing a comprehensive questionnaire, data were gathered from a diverse group of preschool educators, revealing their perspectives on the significance of authentic writing. The research highlights the…

Authentic writing allows students to write for audiences other than the teacher for reasons that matter to them and that lead to changing how an audience thinks, feels, or acts. How can teachers prioritize authentic writing instruction and help students become successful writers? Lauren Esposito does this through improv, an art form that develops…

There is compelling empirical evidence suggesting that more authentic learning tasks improve second language learners' motivation and learning (Long, 1996; Van Lier, 2014). However, most research on this topic has focused on Germanic and Romance L2 languages, primarily in the context of speaking skills. Little is known about the effect of task…

In its diverse forms, authentic writing carries the potential to connect literacy practice to an author's 'real world'. While contemporary approaches to authentic writing instruction--advocating writer-centred, intertextual and culturally relevant productions--are most often explored in formal learning contexts like classrooms, this paper seeks to…

"The Literacy Workshop" is a first-of-its-kind resource that offers a practical process for creating an integrated literacy workshop using demonstration lessons that align with current curriculum standards. By weaving together the common threads of literacy learning, you can increase the time your students spend engaged in authentic…

How writing is conceptualized has consequences, especially in educational settings. Yet, despite decades of research and scholarship on writing, writing instruction, and writing assessment, misperceptions about writing and its purpose in schools persist. This position statement is directed primarily toward an external audience of school…

Social movements seeking to dismantle white supremacy within academia cast long-running debates over writing instruction in a new light. This conversation approaches these critiques as an opportunity for pedagogical reinvention. I put forward new theory that centers the social performance and psychological rewards of authenticity. I first review…

Schools need their writing instruction "simplified." Most classrooms share writing time with another subject, making it difficult for students to receive the direct writing instruction they need. Between the lack of time, increased gaps in writing skills, and inconsistent writing curriculum, teachers are struggling to bring their…

In conventional written corrective feedback (WCF) practice, teachers spend an inordinate amount of time identifying every error in student writing. Research evidence suggests that such a comprehensive WCF approach is both undesirable and ineffective. Recent research has shown that focused WCF, where teachers respond to errors selectively, is a…

This article develops a pedagogical approach to increase students' ability to locate and (re-)create publics for the issues about which they care most. By drawing Rhetorical Genre Studies into public sphere theories, this approach blurs the boundaries between widely-dispersed genres (those with large readerships across communities) and…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between technology-supported writing instruction at the K-12 level and deep learning approaches and to understand the trends in this field. In the study, 12 articles selected from Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC and EBSCO databases were systematically analysed. The findings reveal that the…

Learn how to develop and sustain multimodal, project-based learning (PBL) instruction in secondary English Language Arts classrooms. National standards encourage authentic forms of reading, writing, and communication that can support college and career readiness, and this book highlights PBL as a powerful way to harness students' interests and…

Students today spend more time writing on social media than they do in formal classrooms and have developed distinct and complex literacies separate from traditional writing curricula. Although several studies have explored teens' informal literacy practices online, research investigating how these spaces may inform or be effectively utilized in…