Describes a multiage first- through third-grade classroom where the development of children's voices and their writing can happen slowly, in its own time. Uses children's poems to show how children discover the craft of writing through listening to other writers (fellow classmates and authors) in the ongoing process of hearing their own voices and…

Uses examples of children's poetry to illustrate both the power of metaphor and the possibilities of poetry in the development of metaphor. Traces children's development in creation of metaphor from kindergarten through eighth grade. Looks at early demonstration of metaphor use and the expanded use of metaphor to describe complex concepts and…

Examines a wide range of writing tasks of 11- and 15-year-old students from four regions of England to establish the relative importance of nonstandard dialect as a factor in deviation from standard English norms in writing. (Author/JL)

Highlights ways parents can support the development of writing at home through engaging activities. Offers suggestions including: (1) writing as an extension of imagination; (2) pictures and words; (3) expanding drawing; (4) entering the social world; and (5) everyday activities as sources of ideas. Asserts that forming a literacy club will help…

Describes various methods the authors (2 Reading Recovery and Title I reading teachers) use to incorporate a single computer effectively in reading and writing activities with small groups (6 children or fewer) of first-grade students. Describes a full circle from simple talking books (in Hyperstudio) for the students to read, to children…

Examines African-American kindergartners' intrinsic motivation in the context of an emergent writing task in both autonomy-supportive and controlling interactions. Finds: (1) in the autonomy-supportive context, children demonstrated more interest in the letter writing task than in the controlling context; (2) the order of the interactions affected…

Summarizes research on gender differences in writing, and challenges readers to reconsider how these are understood. Looks at the use of violence and humor versus sincerity in boys' writing. Argues that, rather than seeing these differences as deficits, the cultural materials boys bring to the classroom should be acknowledged and engaged. (SR)

Recounts an art lesson plan, inspired by the book "Learning to Swim in Swaziland," where the students created their own accordion books. Appeals to the many ethnicities at this particular school, allowing all the students to present their unique backgrounds. Gives a suggestion list, directions, and specifies materials. (CMK)

When alphabet instruction is removed from the meaningful context of written language, children receive a distorted message about the purpose and importance of letters in isolation. Activities in a kindergarten classroom designed to promote children's growth as readers and writers should present written language as whole and meaningful, rather than…

A teacher educator introduces issues around using technology with primary children. Two teachers then describe science units they created that integrate technology through purposeful, hands-on activities, including children writing an online newsletter, exploring the Internet guided by tracking software, creating webs using webbing software, doing…

In the context of an imagined symposium, this article addresses the literacy practices of elementary students ranging from first through sixth grade. The arguments the students make throughout the symposium, as well as the practices they relate, are drawn from arts-based literacy research conducted by the two authors. The imagined symposium begins…

This study reports on an analysis of preservice teachers' dialogue journal entries for evidence of ways in which teachers develop conceptual understanding for writing instruction. Teachers' propositional statements were identified and coded at a specific level for three themes: (1) level of instructional scaffolding, (2) focus of proposed…

In this paper a relationship is established between writing and early literacy in young children. The age at which early literacy begins to develop in young children varies with each child. For many children, literacy begins to appear in activities such as pretend play, drawing, conversations about storybook plots, and conversations about words or…

This book takes the elementary school teacher through all the paces needed to conduct a 2-day writing marathon in the classroom. According to the book, working as a team and having the opportunity to write without interruption are the main goals of a "write-a-thon," but play is a key element to its success. The book explains step-by-step…

Based on the premise that teachers everywhere have found that bookmaking has the power to motivate even the most reluctant writers, this book suggests that by combining illustrations and texts, children engage in a kind of communication that transcends the sum of its parts--their pictures and words interact to convey a new level of meaning. The…