Writing to persuade is an important writing purpose that students and learners need to develop and use both in their academic lives and in the workplace. The Common Core State Standards set specific expectations for students' opinion writing starting from Kindergarten. This article explains the use of response to reading as a way to introduce…

Despite sound instructional practices to develop foundational reading skills with young learners, numerous learners continue to lag behind in literacy learning. Many do not view themselves as readers, lack motivation, and become disengaged with learning in general. This article shares a research-based instructional framework developed by one of…

In this study, the authors tested the effects of Tekster [Texter], a comprehensive strategy-focused writing instruction program, using a switching replication design with three measurement occassions. The program was implemented by fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers (N = 76) in 60 general education classrooms in the Netherlands. Students (n =…

The community college stands as a beacon of democratic, inclusive ideals. Unlike the four year college--where research and advanced degrees are sought--the community college celebrates learning on a personal, heuristic level. And while such unconventional and even seditious practices have been questioned by those who seek to maintain "standards,"…

In this "Idea Sharing" article, the author introduces Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" as a critique of King James I's (England) concept of an absolute monarchy, in his constitutional treatise, "Basilikon Doron (1599)," the "kingly gift" that advises the young prince on the ethics of government and how to…

Focusing on the creative writing of Year 6 boys as they make the transition to Year 7, this article establishes a theoretical model for creative writing as response. In line with Bakhtin's notion of utterances as 'interpersonal' (1986), the model demonstrates the complexity of creative writing -- the text is influencing of and influenced by an…

During her first two years of teaching, a kindergarten teacher (first author) developed a writing program grounded in five instructional strategies that repeatedly appear in emergent writing research--modeling, Scaffolded Writing, invented spelling, word walls, and reader response--and in the overarching principle of Gradual Release of…

Entering into a century of conversations from "English Journal," the authors read, and reread, the words of many mentors, colleagues, and friends, discovering some voices they did not know and rediscovering many voices they did. In surveying "English Journal", the authors highlight voices from the past, of the present, and for the future to offer…

Textbooks and grammar worksheets do not adequately convey to students how readers or listeners are shaped by the language of the writer. The best way to help students understand the emphasis of a dash or another device is to see one used during a suspenseful moment in a dramatic selection. It is up to the teacher to select dramatic works that…

In this high-accountability era--one in which there is an expanding movement to condemn teachers for the failures of their schools--teachers teach students who believe writing is primarily an act of complying to a prompt, likely for a state accountability assessment or the troubling 25-minute essay that constitutes less than half of the writing…

This study examines the writing of 30 engineering students, faculty response, students' reading of the response, subsequent revision, and faculty evaluation to ask what factors contribute to constructive conversation about writing. It affirms previous research that suggests engineering faculty do not provide the facilitative commentary widely…

Describes a writing project for which students corresponded with students at other schools about their responses to literature. Focuses on how the teachers became their own researchers and learned through collaboration with other teachers. (SRT)

Claims that the insights of reader response theory can be brought into the teaching of poetry in college literature courses. Outlines methods for utilizing reader response techniques to help students enjoy and understand poetry. (HB)

Increasingly, autistic students are attending college, posing new challenges to writing instructors. In particular, such students may have trouble imagining readers' responses to their texts. Developing an appropriate pedagogy for these students may involve revisiting composition studies' tradition of cognitive research, while not abandoning more…

The peer-group method of composition instruction represents the quintessence of the "environmental" mode of teaching which brings teacher, student, and materials more nearly into balance. Responding to recent criticisms of peer-response groups, a model was developed to establish a middle course, balancing (1) philosophical stances; (2)…