Curriculum leaders, program specialists, and teachers can intentionally arouse the activation of one hemisphere of the brain over the other through the use of right brain strategies in language learning. While most functions of the left hemisphere are concerned with convergent production (getting the right answer), functions of the right…

The Effective Reading in Content Areas (ERICA) teaching model comprises four stages: preparing for reading, thinking through information, extracting and organizing information, and translating information. Aspects to consider in the first stage include the preparation of ideas, text, and vocabulary. Two strategies can be used to promote reflection…

A field of study sequence designed at the University of Iowa to introduce the research paper to freshman rhetoric students encourages them to view themselves as interpretive anthropologists entering a strange culture and exploring their declared majors or areas of special interest. Each student is responsible for (1) writing an essay in response…

On the basis of a National Humanities project proposed by the English department of a St. Louis, Missouri high school, many different approaches to drawing students into writing about and understanding literature were developed. One of three such techniques is a sequence of writing-reading-writing that offers the possibility of both enhancing the…

In a required class on literature and composition at Eastern Illinois University, students learn about the short story by writing one of their own. Their stories then become the context for an introduction to literary terminology such as point of view, setting, and use of dialogue versus narration. Having just written their own stories, students…

Several ideas for implementing writing in the content areas are presented. The ideas, which were submitted by teachers and students, include: (1) a class called "Thinking-Writing" which uses freewriting, clustering, and written dialogue with an imaginary tutee; (2) a testimonial on the importance of knowing how to write in adult life;…

Intended for teachers of elementary and secondary school writing, this paper describes the Regular Writing Practice (RWP) program, which combines the philosophical and pedagogical bases of Lyman Hunt's Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading program with the instructional methodology of creative writing and composition. The first portion of the…

Addressed to classroom teachers, this booklet illustrates ways student enterprise projects offer uncommon opportunities for students to write and ultimately produce materials having social value. It is suggested that, for elementary school students, teachers can structure enterprise projects involving play. For example, one teacher invited…

Based on research using participant and nonparticipant observation in a natural setting, a study examined how teaching practices, classroom conditions, and student differences influenced the design of writing lessons in 14 English classes in five inner city schools. Data were collected from five sources--interviews, writing samples,…

Based on a year's work with 16 second grade students, this two-part paper reports the successful use of the Marathon Writing (continuous writing for short periods on a regular basis) strategy in encouraging beginning writers to write independently. The first part of the paper explains the technique of marathon writing, and notes that even though…

This special journal issue consists of 14 articles by outstanding teachers explaining what they do to get their students to write effective stories and essays. The issue's introduction discusses a study of similarities in techniques among successful writing teachers. The second section, "Writing Approaches, Ideas and Assignments," contains six…

High school and college writing assignments encourage students to avoid every sense of purposeful self-involvement by directing all their attention to the world or to others. Perhaps teachers need to be reminded that, unless they give students the opportunity and occasion to focus on instrumental relationships between the world, other people and…

Intended for teachers of an advanced undergraduate composition course for majors in any of the liberal arts, social sciences, humanities, or business, this manual offers an outline, instructional materials, and some suggested assignments. Emphasis is placed on the process of composing, particularly the ways students should write for different…

Teaching college writing students to edit the autobiographical writing of others has many advantages. Autobiographical materials, such as diaries, letters, or journals, are physically and psychologically accessible for students, and as editors they would be obliged to keep in mind appropriateness of language, tone, and simplicity or complexity of…

Composition instruction based on aims of discourse rather than on modes can help students understand the purpose and function behind their writing. Such an approach, developed by Caroline Eckhardt and David Stewart, offers four categories that cover most purposes for writing in academic or career settings: (1) to clarify what the subject is, (2)…