A computer program titled "The Bald Headed Chicken," written for the Apple IIE and Apple IIGS, is described. The program enables primary-level students, as well as limited-English-speaking students, to manipulate graphics and text to create their own stories which can then be saved on disk or printed. (Author/JDD)

Teachers can illustrate the relevance and power of good writing by having students write various kinds of letters throughout the year. The article describes such activities as writing thank-you notes, describing a dream vacation, getting published, and establishing pen pals. A student page is included. (SM)

Describes software packages for teaching writing, including Compupoem, an instructional package producing haiku-like poems; Poetry Writing, which suggests story lines and poem structures; Story Maker, which assists young writers in planning stories; Cognitive Organizers, which focuses on the classification process; and the author's program for…

Writing groups can use word processors or microcomputers in many different types of writing activities. Four hour-long sessions at a word processor with the help of a skilled word processing tutor have been found to be sufficient to provide a working knowledge of word processing. When two or three students enrolled in a writing class are assigned…

A computer program entitled "Story Time" encourages preschool children to use the important language skills that develop during the first 3 or 4 years of life to create and print original stories. Although the computer does not write the stories, it aids the children in the creation of stories by prompting them with questions. In order to use the…

Synthesized speech was added to a word processor used by children in grades two and five. Each student wrote four stories on a microcomputer and received spoken feedback on two of them. It was found that students wrote longer stories, edited more, and enjoyed writing more with the spoken feedback. (24 references) (LAE)

A study investigating collaborative computer use for writing at the primary level was conducted at a Catholic school in Toronto through videotaping and observation in a first grade classroom over a period of 3 weeks. It was found that the differentiation of tasks by the computer into two types of acts--inputting signs and arranging text--was…

Poetry was used in a college English class to teach figurative language, connotation, denotation, and the need for close attention to vocabulary. However, students were often bored by traditional poetry. Using computer programs like "Compupoem,""Poetrywriter,""Lifesongs," and "Haikuku," students were introduced to computer poetry and created their…

Many reading teachers, cognizant of the creative opportunities for skill development allowed by new reading-writing software, are choosing to use microcomputers in their classrooms full-time. Adventure story creation programs capitalize on reading-writing integration by allowing children, with appropriate assistance, to create their own…

Reflecting the views of teachers, reading specialists, and professors on both the basics and the new technologies in reading instruction, these conference proceedings begin with Carl Personke's address, "The Word's the Thing," on classroom activities that stress the word as concept. The second paper, William Linville's and David…