Describes how the author and her high school English students begin their study of Thoreau's "Walden" by mining the text for quotations to inspire their own writing and discussion on the topic, "How does Thoreau speak to you or how could he speak to someone you know?" (SR)

Describes story ladders, a technique used to illustrate the development of story and to act as a catalyst for writing. (SR)

Describes a strategy called RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) used to promote comprehension in content area classrooms. (SR)

Describes a range of classroom writing activities to go along with three books for children or adolescents: "On My Honor" (Marion Dane Bauer), "Knots on a Counting Rope" (Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault), and "Piggybook" (Anthony Browne). (SR)

Describes an activity in which students study and then create effective television public service announcements, thus integrating reading, writing, speaking, and drawing. (SR)

Describes a several-step class activity involving 3-D art and essays which at-risk students carry out with success and enthusiasm. Notes how the project is attentive to learning styles and good motivational techniques. (SR)

Offers four practical ideas for classroom use within the field of literacy education: (1) "Press Conference: A Strategy for Integrating Reading with Writing"; (2) "Expressing Ethnic Identity through Brown-Bag Big Books"; (3) "Beanstalk Heroes: Jack and Jim in an Integrated Primary Curriculum"; and (4) "Reading the World around Us." (PRA)

This paper presents four introductory activities designed to help students with their reading problems, motivate them to read, and help them turn their interpretations of literature into effective compositions. The paper presents samples for each of the four activities ("Opinionnaires," Scenarios, Simulations, and Role Playing),…

Describes an activity/assignment involving composition and cooperative learning which is designed to help students learn to attend to context clues. (SR)

There are many kinds of writing activities for pupils. Pupils need to develop proficiency for a variety of types of writing, such as creative writing and poetry, writing in journals, writing about personal experiences, writing an outline, writing an opinion, writing on how something should be done, writing and problem solving, writing to inform,…

Describes a nonfiction genre study in a first-grade class in which reading and writing minilessons focused on nonfiction, and the children were required to read nonfiction and write a piece in that genre. Notes that, by the end of the nonfiction study, the group exhibited confidence and comfort with nonfiction. (SR)

Discusses results of a survey of undergraduates' television watching and reading habits, revealing startling numbers of nonreaders or minimal readers. Describes assignments used in journalism classes to promote the reading habit. (SR)

Shares practical and successful solutions to implementing three recommendations concerning seatwork made in "Becoming a Nation of Readers." (MG)

Describes an activity called "Critical Analysis of Literature." Students read, think, debate, and write about controversial books, examining whether each novel should be included in the school curriculum. This teaches students to critically analyze information, develop an appreciation for literature, and develop a respect for thinking on their…

Noting that a small portion of older emergent readers are usually found in all primary classes, this pamphlet discusses how teachers can help students with reading difficulties see how to fit together the snippets of literacy-related information they may have already acquired. After a brief introduction, the pamphlet suggests that children learn…