Methods for blending the language of the street with the language of the library, the integration of the language of film, a visual and oral languae, with the written language of great literature and good composition. (Author)

Activities that reinforce social studies instruction and improve writing skills are described, including: (1) writing resumes for historical figures; (2) "on-site" reporting of historical events; (3) defining social studies concepts; (4) perspective taking and letter writing; and (5) speech writing. (CJ)

Aimed at teachers interested in implementing student journals in their classrooms, this guide offers subjects students can write about and ideas for how to use journal writing as a classroom activity, and justifies writing across curriculum lines. The first section of the guide, entitled Mirrors, suggests that students can benefit from writing in…

Teachers participating in the Teacher Center-United Kingdom Exchange Program at New Mexico State University were required to keep a journal throughout the entire exchange year. The objective of the exercise was to improve writing and reduce writing anxiety among the teachers, and to influence them to implement journal writing in their public…

Paragraph writing mediated by imagery is richer, more flexible, and more creative than that produced by the somewhat impoverished, predictable, one-process model usually taught in composition classes. Since the writing advice given students differs considerably from the practice of professional writers, students should be given exercises that not…

The program outlined in this document suggests that all secondary school students have continuous composing experiences in four major areas of written discourse: sensory/descriptive, imaginative/narrative, practical/informative, and analytical/expository. This document contains a chart detailing a plan of instruction in written composition for…

Findings are reported from a longitudinal study, involving 8- to 10-year-old students in England, which evaluated and analyzed student writing samples. The writing samples were elicited by tests intended to produce two kinds of writing: a story and a description. (IAH)

The fourth part of a four-year K-12 curriculum guide project for teaching writing, this guide deals with the literary aim (or purpose) for creating composition--which challenges the individual to develop a creative style found in the novel, short story, drama, or poem, and which encompasses both fiction and nonfiction. The preface explains that…

Reflecting the view that a single formula for revolutionizing the teaching of writing is unavailable, this publication of the New York State English Council presents a series of articles dealing with various topics in the teaching of composition in high school and college settings. Subjects discussed include the following: the use of fables in the…

This paper describes a year-long, college senior composition course based on nature writing and open to students from all content areas. Nature writing is defined as writing about nature with the specific requirement that the writer must remain true to the objective facts of nature while at the same time presenting the human response to, and the…

Because of their effectiveness, as well as their accessiblity as points of reference, TV commercials can provide excellent bridges in teaching concepts of good, effective writing. Specificity through metaphor is only one of the many basic writing course topics that can be effectively illustrated through TV commercials. (Author/EB)

This article showed that students demonstrate individual differences in their composition of text. It was found that noncontingent students tended to write more creative essays and used more text-creative or schema-creative propositions in composing their descriptions than did the other two register groups (imitative and contingent). (Author/GK)

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans offers practical suggestions for developing high school students' writing skills. The 37 lesson plans in this book are divided into four sections: (1) descriptive; (2) audience/voice; (3) expository; and (4) creative. A user's…

This package is intended to assist tutors who are working to improve their adult students' writing skills. It is divided into three parts. The first part, which focuses on the process of writing, includes 13 units in which tutors can explore writing work, either with small groups or individual students. The units, each of which includes…

A collection of 50 essays from successful applications to various U.S. colleges is presented along with comments from admissions officers. It is noted that "right" and "wrong" essays do not exist, and with a little creativity and effort, almost any topic can make for an effective and memorable college application essay. Every…