Talk between students and their teachers is central to learning at school, yet students' competence is often understood as the outcome of instructional talk rather than essential to successful participation in instructional talk. Curriculum frameworks used to attribute students with levels of competence reflect these understandings. This article…

Discusses the types of revision second-grade students conducted on their writing that, at first, were not obvious to the teacher. These include revision in an individual conference with the teacher and revising by expanding a journal entry. (HTH)

This booklet contains one teacher's experiences with teaching poetry to children, offering suggestions and insights about organizing the subject matter, preparing a conducive physical environment, and practicing with various poetic forms. Sections of the booklet discuss the characteristics and behaviors of writing room teachers, the organization…

Argues that writing should play a more prominent role in classroom-based studies of second language acquisition. Contends that an implicit emphasis on spoken language is the result of the historical development of the field of applied linguistics and parent disciplines of structuralist linguistics, linguistic anthropology, and child language…

Noting that too many children leave elementary school without developing the ability to use words imaginatively, this paper presents a teaching approach that uses literature to foster invention in children's writing. The approach described is part of a total composition program that structures writing experiences in which children observe…

Describes how kindergarten children use invented spelling to rewrite Mother Goose nursery rhymes, indicating the phoneme grapheme system the children perceived from spoken language. (HTH)

Reports on a recent study of first grade writing efforts that confirms the importance of scribble in the writing process when it is an accepted language behavior in the classroom. (FL)

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…

Claims that the term "process writing" is used indiscriminately to describe both the naturalistic approach to learning how to write and the process of selecting a topic, drafting, conferencing, and publishing. Suggests that writing to publish should not be the only writing children do. (SRT)

An elementary school English teacher relates her school experiences, both as a child and as a teacher, to explain her attitudes toward teaching writing as communication and not as a corrected/correctable language form. (RL)

The following articles of interest to teachers of English as a second language (ESL) are included: (1) "Guided Writing in a High School" by Jean Brent; (2) "The Silent Way--Report on a Workshop" by Andrew Weiler; (3) "Multicultural Education: Report on an In-Service Day" by Helen Crain-Welsby; (4) "An ESL…

Describes a two-day residence in a fifth- and sixth-grade classroom of poet Arnold Adoff. Presents his interaction with five students as they struggle with their poetry writing. (HTH)

Defines exploratory language as that used to explore thoughts rather than for starting already thought of ideas, then shows how three 10th-grade students profited from exploratory writing for different reasons. (FL)

Relates some of the observations made of a kindergarten classroom over a two-year period in which teachers simulated as many conditions as possible with respect to a natural "learning-how-to-write" situation. (HOD)

Describes the growing autonomy of three young siblings as they wrote in the poetic function over a five-year period. Includes samples of the children's poetry. (HTH)