Describes a technique for using e-mail and the World Wide Web to teach an introductory media writing course online. Surveys students' attitudes toward the technique and evaluates the technique's effectiveness in helping students learn. Finds that participating students rated the course highly enjoyable and convenient, and substantial majorities…

A study investigated effectiveness of use of World Wide Web texts in a college English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writing class, finding that the reading comprehension and writing skills of 15 students using the Web-based materials improved more than those of students not using the materials. Ethnographic observation also focused on four…

Describes an on-line mark-up-based composition learning environment system called CoCoA (Communicative Collection Assisting System). This system allows students and teachers to engage in marked-up documents via the Internet, and its environment is very similar to a real-world one in which people use pen and paper. CCML also facilitates teachers to…

Describes the development and evaluation of new classroom materials, including a Class 1 textbook, teacher textbook, and eight supplementary readers, designed to teach children in India to read and write in Telugu. Notes that in schools using the new materials, children showed significant learning gains, and teachers and parents were highly…

Examines the dynamic relation between response theory and responding practice, noting how the author commented on the writing of one case-study student. Argues that effective teacher response puts into practice certain accepted principles of response and adapts comments to the larger classroom context, according to the sequence of assignments and…

Computers can help young writers learn to write well. Exercises for developing ideas, such as freewriting, are easily adapted to computers and enhanced by hypertext and thesaurus functions. Grammar and spell checks make editing easier, and the ability to rearrange text facilitates writing out of order and revision. Changing formats and fonts,…

Explores an inner-city girl's view on school-based literacy activities in relation to several factors in the literature that are important to children's attitudes toward reading and writing. Identifies several factors including: intrinsic satisfaction she gains from the activities, her beliefs about the importance of schooling, and her…

Examines reasons for the resistance and resentment of many student athletes to working with writing tutors. Discusses successful intervention strategies for dealing with counter-productive behavior. Argues that the resultant learning not only enriches the athletes, but the entire academic community, since their stories are a tremendous asset for…

Compared the longitudinal effects of phonics and whole-language instruction on kindergartners' reading and writing task performance over one year. Found that the whole-language group made more progress in reading and writing, and with more developmental coherence, than the phonics group. (JPB)

Reports on a case study of a technique designed to increase adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' communicative competence by exposing students to real audiences in authentic settings. In the approach, students learn the subtle influence of cultural and social factors of speech in a manner difficult to duplicate in a classroom. (four…

Describes children's writing development, examines several general findings from recent research, and provides some examples of how these findings affect classroom practice for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) bilingual programs. Emphasizes the use and acquisition of writing as a means of facilitating the development of a second language. (MDM)

Teachers can encourage their elementary students to write by demonstrating writing themselves frequently throughout the day. The paper discusses how teachers can become more comfortable with their own writing in order to use it to teach, then offers suggestions on how to write in class and share it with students. (SM)

Describes a veteran high school English teacher's revised vision of what it means to teach writing to high school students. Describes his reflection and experimentation in the classroom to find a balance between freedom and structure, creativity and organization, appropriate for the realities of the high school classroom. Discusses the process…

Describes how a literacy coach worked with two content area teachers to revise the way they think about and implement instruction to enhance students' reading and writing. Shares two teacher inquiries: the experiences of a ninth-grade science teacher and his students as they developed and rated a class-written expository essay; and a…

This article discusses how parents can use the Language Experience Approach and Scaffolded Writing in the home environment to teach their children literacy skills and to prevent school failure. The benefits of parent involvement in influencing the quality and quantity of a child's literacy experiences is stressed. (Contains references.) (CR)