A case study traces the evolution of "once-upon-a-time" in a child's classroom story writing, drawing upon data collected in a three-year study of writing development in an urban magnet school. The subject, Mitzi, is observed from kindergarten through second grade. The study assumes that stories are cultural discourse forms that serve…

ADDRESSED TO THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FACED WITH A POETRY-WRITING ASSIGNMENT, THIS BOOK PRESENTS THE ARGUMENT THAT "POETRY IS FOR YOU." INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS TREAT (1) THE EXPRESSION OF SENSORY IMPRESSIONS, (2) RHYTHM, (3) THE PICTORIAL NATURE OF POETRY, (4) HUMOROUS POETRY, (5) REVISION, AND (6) VARIOUS DEFINITIONS OF POETRY. A "KINDLE KIT"…

The intent of this guide is to encourage teachers to have students write, both formally and informally, on a systematic basis. Three types of writing are emphasized: (1) journal writing; (2) research paper writing; and (3) essay writing. The section on journal writing includes a handout for the class explaining the purpose for journal writing and…

Eighth grade students, in response to a pictorial stimulus (either an intact picture, or a series), were instructed to write either a story (which would be enjoyable for another eighth grader) or a description (which would help another eighth grader visualize the picture). Thirty responses from each of the four task conditions were then analyzed.…

About 9,000 students in grades 4, 8, and 12 participated in three writing excersises: (1) directed--short passage in response to a specific request; (2) global--extended narrative or exposition on a broad topic; and (3) proofreading and editing. The exercises reflected writing tasks required of the average adult as a citizen worker or creative…

The purposes of this study were (1) to investigate the effectivenss of activities centered around children's literature on pupils' use and understanding of figurative language, (2) to study the effect of the activities on pupils' reading vocabulary and comprehension, and (3) to examine the relationship of age, sex, IQ, and socioeconomic status to…

The main thesis of this book which describes a pupil-centered curriculum is that students should use language more than they customarily do. The curriculum is based on a "naturalistic" approach "whereby students learn essentially by doing and receiving feedback." Consequently, most of the book is devoted to guiding the student from a posture of…

Arranged into four parts, the paper offers practical and motivating techniques for using the dime novel in high school classrooms, particularly in the study of women's history. The first part of the paper describes the historical background of the dime novel that was originally intended to entertain the reading public with fast-paced action, high…

This book presents a range of activities for writing instruction that develop different composing skills, attend to the social processes of reading and writing, involve the peer group in evaluating and responding to drafts, focus on different types and formats of writing, and stimulate these activities through diverse techniques and methods. The…