Traces the development of a project that consisted of first graders developing a book. (DF)

Provides a framework for using journal writing in the primary grades to develop writing skills. Outlines techniques to help focus teacher observations, deepen insights, inform curricular decision making, and help teachers reflect upon the student's role in journal writing. (RS)

The traditional spelling curriculum emphasized that pupils learn to spell a specific set of words through memorization. However, major problems existed pertaining to using that method of teaching. Pupils soon forgot the correct spelling of memorized words. Educational psychologists have long advocated that pupils perceive knowledge as being…

Offers guidelines on helping young children develop into independent writers. Explains what to expect at different stages, such as semiphonetic and phonetic stages, drawing as a prewriting activity, and writing and revising once drawing no longer dictates writing. Offers suggestions for providing an environment that supports the writing process.…

Helping first graders develop writing skills is the focus of this paper. The first part of the paper discusses 11 ideas likely to be crucial to any first grade writing program, such as the similarities between learning to talk and writing, and the teacher as the model writer. The second part of the paper outlines creative writing activities…

Using data from 14 weeks of participant observation, this study examines three kindergartners' behaviors during common beginning literacy activities (i.e., copying and free composition). Results focus on the children's understanding of how written symbols and orally read messages are related and have implications for the use of teaching…

For the 2 years the author was a kindergarten teacher in a public school, the students did journal writing. This was a new initiative in the school, which was performing low and had been placed under "registration review." The idea of journal writing in kindergarten was met with a lot of resistance from the other teachers who felt kindergarten…

Recounts observations of a second grader's writing processes and concludes that students' enjoyment of writing should be cultivated. (DF)

Describes an activity for primary school students, combining writing with computer-art quilt-making. Provides a bibliography of quilt books. (MM)

This speech indicates how teachers can use visual materials in classrooms to promote writing by children in primary school. Five classroom tested motivating experiences discussed are: (1) adding words to wordless picture books, (2) writing about artist's paintings, (3) writing story lines from films, (4) comparing variant editions of the same…

Recounts how observation of children who were just beginning to write convinced a teacher that very young children can write, and thus changed the way she taught. (JL)

Among the various methods used by a classroom teacher to encourage writing in her first grade class are letter writing, writing a book, writing notes to each other, and keeping journals. The desire to communicate is the primary motivating factor in the development of both oral and written language. (JN)

This teachers' guide responds to some of the more frequently asked questions about teaching and evaluating from Kindergarten through Grade 5. The document is a synthesis of the current research on writing and applies this information to the teaching of writing in the classroom. It is comprehensive in nature and addresses such subjects as…

What first graders chose to put in their journals when given no direct suggestions for topics was studied during the 1985-86 school year in a suburban Birmingham, Alabama, classroom. Journal writing was scheduled for 30 minutes daily throughout the school year, but not all children chose to write every day. At the end of the year, all of the…

Reviews research on handwriting instruction that focuses on these questions: (1) Do learners need particular writing instruments and paper? (2) Should educators encourage students to trace or copy? and (3) How can educators evaluate learners' writing? Offers implications and suggestions for handwriting instruction. (BB)