The writing across the curriculum movement has rightfully gained recognition as a transformative force in how teachers conceive of, use, and assign writing in their classes throughout various disciplines. Drawing on data from the first three years of an ongoing study of faculty "WAC fellows" at a large, comprehensive state university,…

This "funbook" presents reading and writing activities to help children prepare for reading and writing. Activities introduce the alphabet, and assist children to print letters of the alphabet and engage in other readiness tasks. The margins of many of the pages present instructions for "reading partners." The booklet includes…

Developed by national reading experts for "reading partners" to use with children, ages birth to grade 6, this booklet presents activities that help very young children to get ready for reading and writing, and guide older children to expand their reading and writing interests and skills. The booklet has three sections, one for…

The socioemotional factors, which influence students' trajectories on their pathways to reading success, are often overlooked in literacy screenings and reading instruction. This article outlines the connections between personality factors, in particular resilient personalities, and early literacy success. It also offers teachers a series of six…

Developed by national reading experts for "reading partners" to use with children, ages birth to grade 6, this Spanish-language booklet presents activities that help very young children to get ready for reading and writing, and guide older children to expand their reading and writing interests and skills. The booklet has three sections,…

Designed for low-level adult learners, this book contains true stories of 20 men and women who have faced and overcome serious challenges in their lives. The book is intended to inspire and motivate developmental students in basic reading and writing classes. The book can be adapted to different instructional approaches--some teachers may wish to…

Investigates the effectiveness of the story impression method--a prewriting activity that develops a schema for ideas found in the story. Suggests that students enjoy using the story clues to write a prestory. Finds that story impressions are a powerful tool for helping all readers (including remedial readers) improve their comprehension. Appends…

In a basic-level writing course at the University of Minnesota, students were asked to read and engage in intelligent conservation about Keith Gilyard's "Voices of the Self." The book is about education but alternates autobiographical material with scholarly analysis. Literacy researchers expect students to read a text, understand what…

A study determined the effect of shared writing activities on reading comprehension. The subjects, 40 second- and third-grade students from a suburban school in Mercer County, West Virginia, completed the Reading Comprehension Subtest of the Comprehension Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) for grade 2 as a pretest. A control group of 20 students were…

A second-grade teacher studied student development when writing occurred daily in the classroom. Assignments included journal, paragraph, and creative writing. The teacher assumed that with daily writing, reading, and spelling would improve. Results indicated that students' reading and writing improved but not spelling; and with forced daily…

Describes the use of Accelerated Reader, a computer program that instantly provides scored tests on a variety of books read by high school ESL (English as a Second Language) students as free voluntary reading. Topics include reading improvement programs, including writing assignments; and changes in students' reading habits. (LRW)

A simple, but useful, handout given to mothers of young children can greatly increase the likelihood that they will present aspects of emergent literacy in their homes. The concept of emergent literacy states that all literacy learning begins in infancy and proceeds forward from that point, and that all of the literacy skills of oral language,…

Intended specifically for tutors who want to use proven teaching techniques but who have limited time and resources, this book offers dozens of teaching ideas as well as useful information on curriculum development, instruction, and appropriate reading materials. The teaching strategies in the book were adapted from articles published in the…

A practicum addressed the problems of low reading levels, deficient writing skills, and poor attitudes toward reading. The objectives were to increase reading levels, improve writing skills, and improve attitudes toward reading and in this process to improve critical thinking skills. The target group was a sixth-grade language arts class of 23…

An experiment sought to determine the effectiveness of a program for improving achievement among black seventh and eighth grade social studies students. The aim was to develop a media center service program that would support school district efforts to provide educational and support services for the black male. An audiovisual tutoring program…