Award-winning author Carolyn Coman has made a career out of writing stories for children and young adults as well as teaching writing to people of all ages. She believes that the essence of good writing, no matter the genre, is the ability to craft a solid story. In this innovative book, Carolyn provides advice, strategies, and inspiration…

Dialogue journal writing offers students of English as a second language (ESL) authentic, natural communication practice in the classroom. It is an interactive, self-generative, cumulative and functional writing/reading exchange between student and teacher, and is being used successfully in many kinds of ESL classrooms, with all age groups, and…

Discusses the differences between developmental students and their teachers in terms of pragmatism and background. Describes the use of a classroom publishing project, which requires students to contribute articles to the magazine and share editing responsibilities. Discusses the benefits of the approach. (DMM)

A writing exercise used in one college-level introductory Spanish literature course has been found helpful in converting student frustration into a challenge and changing perceptions of the teacher from adversary to ally. When the first reading assignment is due, the teacher tells the students how frustrating the class can be and lets them begin…

During 1983, an observational study was carried out in four classrooms in two schools in Wellington, New Zealand, with the following objectives in mind: (1) to describe the different writing tasks, assigned to the students, (2) to outline the guidance students were given in order to help them complete their writing tasks, (3) to establish which…

One college teacher's approach to writing instruction focuses on grading to encourage learning, using a marking system that clarifies distinctions between content and mechanics, and removes the punitive aspect of grading. The system is rewarding and motivational for both students and teacher. In addition, the course includes individual…

Methods of eliciting writing from children are explored in this monograph, which includes samples of nine- and ten-year-old students' writing. The monograph offers four recommendations for improving writing skills: make writing a daily activity; take children's writing seriously; maintain flexible standards of form and language; and identify group…

The purpose of assigning writing that will not be formally graded is to assist students in learning subject matter and to create a classroom context that encourages active learning and interactive teaching. Offers three examples of college-level writing-to-learn assignments used in various disciplines, and some ways teachers can respond to such…

The teacher of a law-school course in Legal Imagination discusses the evolution of his personal approach in the classroom, which is designed to discern the gifts of each student rather than to simply identify the gifted. Three crucial elements are explored: use and treatment of writing assignments; the use of silence in the classroom environment;…

Self-evaluation is unfamiliar to most college students. Teachers can use varied approaches to support students in overcoming unfamiliarity with self-evaluation, lack of confidence in describing learning, writing difficulties, evaluation difficulties, discomfort discussing academic problems, cultural bias against self-evaluation, emotional…

The teacher of a class of pre-university students of English as a second language at the high-intermediate level assesses the usefulness of dialogue journal writing to develop second language skills and to promote better writing. The course emphasized essay-writing, not technical writing, and was organized around thematic units using a textbook.…

Argues that developing writing activities, consulting with students as they work on a major writing project, and responding are important vehicles for teaching that fosters engaged learning. Central principles are to make assignments inquiry- or issue-based, to keep them focused but open enough for students to develop their own angle or interest,…

A study examined the interaction strategies of one teacher for promoting student writing in the dialogue journals of 12 limited-English-proficient sixth grade students and the effect of these strategies on the length and complexity of the students' writing. The teacher strategies identified include requests for a reply and personal contributions…

Bringing the electronic classroom to the traditional classroom is a challenge--especially if students do not have access to computers. There are, however, some exercises that can be conducted in the classroom while the computer grant is being processed. Many computer and writing theorists argue that computer-mediated writing classes tend to be…

A teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to adults in a non-English-speaking country describes use of classroom writing conferences to improve student language use and introduce writing into the communicative syllabus. The approach is based on a conference format and focuses on self-directed inquiry. Students are provided with monolingual…