Dialogue journals are recommended in this digest for teachers who want to involve every student in a literacy practice that unites reading and writing and encourages thinking and reflection. The digest first explains that dialogue journals are useful because they use writing as a genuine means of communication between student and teacher. Dialogue…

Compares revisions of the same chapter from a computer manual, one revision by a group using conventional revision techniques and another revision by a group using concept mapping. Finds that revision time was not significantly different between groups, nor were an editor's ratings, but that readers' comprehension was significantly higher with the…

The study of reading-writing connections involves appreciating how reading and writing work together as tools for information storage and retrieval, discovery and logical thought, communication, and self-indulgence. There are numerous benefits that can be accrued from connecting reading and writing. Thus far, for example, the research data have…

The more children read, the more they write and the better they spell. As the quality of a child's reading content rises, so does his or her writing. Emergent literacy research suggests that reading and writing occur simultaneously and encourage the growth of one another. Research has also concluded that writing frequently for authentic purposes…

This paper examines what has been learned from research about the complex connections between literacy, technology, and learning. The beginnings of research in this area coincided with the introduction of personal computers (PCs) into educational settings in the late 1970s. For the first decade, researchers asked the kinds of questions best…

Finds literature to be the most effective model for writing in the author's second-grade classroom. Discusses five ways that children borrow ideas from literature and the function of borrowed ideas. (SR)

This article discusses findings from three studies investigating the effect of special instruction in sentence-combining on reading comprehension and writing skills. Results indicate significant gains among younger or still-developing students and focused gains among older students. (IAH)

A study examined and described a program for implementing a writer's workshop to increase the literacy skills of reading and writing. The targeted population consisted of early childhood special education, kindergarten, and first-grade students in a growing, middle class community located in northern Illinois. The problems of poor reading…

A study examined the effect of using mapping as a mediating strategy to produce written summaries and improve comprehension of poor readers in the fifth grade. Twenty-three students from two Chapter 1 classrooms in northern Illinois, all classified as poor readers, were divided into experimental (13 children) and control (10 children) groups. The…

A study examined basic writers' written responses to literature and looked for the effects of practice and personality on the development of these students' responses. Subjects, 24 students enrolled in a 4-week summer enrichment program for high risk students at a large Southeastern university. Students were asked to read and respond in writing…

Studies 110 sixth grade students to determine whether the writing of persuasive discourse can be improved by instruction and the effect of reading on writing and of writing on reading within the mode of persuasion. Finds that ability to write persuasion can be improved by instruction and that students transferred knowledge from reading to writing.…

This third annual survey investigated teachers' attitudes about writing and reading. Subjects, 507 K-5 teachers and middle, junior high, and senior high school teachers of math, science, social studies, and English teaching in public or private schools, were surveyed by telephone. Results indicated that: (1) a majority of teachers considered…

This paper describes a study that evaluated a program in which students' reading and writing skills improved with the enhancement of various interventions related to reading and writing. The targeted population consisted of elementary students enrolled in first and third grades in northern Illinois. The lack of reading and writing success was…

Presents a longitudinal study of six basic reading and writing students at the University of Florida that traces student progress. Demonstrates that several students experienced progress over a more than three-year span, although improvement was neither linear nor extensive. Identifies growth of metacognitive awareness among students. (HB)

Investigates the effects of explicit story structure instruction on below-average fourth and fifth grade readers' narrative writing performance. Finds that explicit story structure instruction positively influenced the narrative writing performance in terms of both quality and quantity of their writing. (MG)