A teacher's careful planning and administering of writing assignments can help stimulate the student's desire to write well. In planning assignments, teachers should have an overall view of the structure of the course, know what can reasonably be expected of the students, find topics close to the students' interests and experiences, encourage…

This document, fourth in a series of 11 subvolumes of a handbook prepared to provide training for educational research and development personnel in the development of instructional materials, deals with the task of stating criterion and preparatory objectives. The document content is arranged according to the sequential steps involved in…

This document, sixth in a series of 11 subvolumes of a handbook prepared to provide training for educational research and development personnel in the development of instructional materials, deals with the task of developing diagnostic and evaluative tests. The document is organized according to the four sequential steps involved in performing the…

This document, one of five volumes comprising a training program in instructional materials development designed for educational research and development personnel, provides practice in all the major tasks involved in the program. These final exercises provide an opportunity to put together component activities and practice them in combination…

This is a report of a study of classroom assignments as perceived by seniors in four rural and smalltown high schools in eastern Kentucky. However, the approach taken in the study could be useful in the appraisal of programs in any school. The study hypothesized that (1) the learning content is experience, and a given experience is related to the…

The focus in this issue of the Illinois English Bulletin is on student writing in the high school and college years. The lead article reports on a University of Illinois committee on the use of English, which reviewed both the writing abilities of incoming freshmen and the provisions for further instruction in writing throughout the undergraduate…

Describes unstructured assignments that spark student interest and creativity, and develop skills necessary for coping with the ambiguities of life. (RB)

Describes five types of language research projects that enable students to examine language for themselves. (DD)

"A Natural Dialogue Unit" by Vincent Wixon and "Introducing Simile" by Patty Stone are provided as examples of successful techniques for helping students draw upon their knowledge of language. (DD)

Describes a four-step model for teaching the techniques of library research: book report and evaluation, comparison of two articles on the same subject by different authors, comparison of two points of view on four or five articles, and full research project. (TJ)

Describes how to evaluate reading assignments so that teachers will know when and how to intervene. (MB)

Describes the writing assignments and general philosophy of the basic course at Georgia Tech. (KS)

Examines the debate between two approaches to teaching writing: imitation of classic models versus technical writing for the real world. Argues that, in either approach, a developmental sequence of assignments is paramount. Describes compromise course plan based on careers, in which students write research papers about vocations in which they are…

Reports on an interdisciplinary teachers' workshop procedure for collaborating on theme and essay question assignment writing. Outlines the process of examining assignments and describes the discussion of one assignment critiqued in the workshop. Emphasizes the relationship between assignment purpose and writing assessment and the students'…