Mind and mood pictures help students "see" reason in their writing. (Editor)

In a series of articles based upon doctoral studies, this issue examines composition instruction in the elementary schools. The first article provides a historical background for examining current practices in elementary composition programs, the second article discusses the relationship between form and content, and the last three articles look…

Methods for blending the language of the street with the language of the library, the integration of the language of film, a visual and oral languae, with the written language of great literature and good composition. (Author)

This paper describes an experimental exploration of special procedures used in a game-like online expository writing experience that was designed to help preservice language arts teachers develop descriptive writing skills. Participants were asked to describe a target picture within a picture set to their cohorts in an online discussion in order…

Designed to develop students' abilities to follow directions and organize and write their thoughts, this junior high level activity involves students in creating a dream person using magazine or catalog pictures and then writing a biography of this person. Materials include teacher notes, follow-up suggestions, evaluation procedure, and a…

Social studies and language arts teachers can use these self-contained activities to teach writing skills to students in grades 6-12. Some of the activities have a global approach requiring students to write about topics such as human rights and cultural differences. Information provided for each activity includes an introduction, objectives, time…

This article proposes to teach writing from the hypothesis that true writing and good prose are only end products rather than the primary objectives. The author suggests that producing an effect in a reader and revealing the self in words are prior achievements in the process of learning to write well. Criteria for judging writing are based…

This literature-research unit centered on a study of the religious quest provides a vehicle for developing several skills in addition to involving students in an examination of the nature of religious experience and the roles religion can play in the lives of people. The student will learn how to write extended definitions, compare and contrast…

THIS COURSE DESCRIPTION RECOUNTS A FOURTH-GRADE TEACHERS EXPERIENCE OF MOTIVATING AND ASSISTING INNER-CITY SLUM CHILDREN TO DEVELOP COMPOSITION SKILLS AND INCLUDES THE THREE UNITS SHE TAUGHT--(1) "LEARNING TO BE SPECIFIC" AND "LEARNING TO DESCRIBE SENSE IMPRESSIONS," (2) "LEARNING TO DESCRIBE PEOPLE," AND (3)…

Based upon the conviction that children can be taught many of the aspects of writing unique to the preparation of professional writers, this book offers ideas for the teaching of creative writing to children. "Creative" writing is defined and its values for children are discussed. Specific suggestions to promote imaginative writing are proposed in…

The activities presented in this book, designed to help children translate their thoughts into spoken and written words, can supplement an elementary teacher's own language arts lessons. Objectives for each activity are listed, with the general focus of the many oral activities being to develop a rich verbal background for future written work. The…

The main thesis of this book which describes a pupil-centered curriculum is that students should use language more than they customarily do. The curriculum is based on a "naturalistic" approach "whereby students learn essentially by doing and receiving feedback." Consequently, most of the book is devoted to guiding the student from a posture of…