Presents a professional development project in which two kindergarten teachers conducted a writing program designed to help kindergartners become more accomplished and independent writers. Describes the strategies used to assist children in finding topics to draw and write about, learning to draw stories (ideas), learning about letter-sound…

The paper presents activities for improving students' literacy, oral communication, and thinking skills. Students brainstorm ideas for improving consumer products, think of ideas for starting a business, design an advertisement, estimate costs involved, create a demand for the product or service, and write a research paper on relieving stress.…

The paper discusses properties of whole language theories applied to spelling development and examines interrelated processes between spelling and speech sound production. Speech-language pathologists are encouraged to serve as resources to teachers in spelling instruction and to utilize whole language strategies that relate speech production to…

Presents a report of the second and third years of a study that describes one teacher's experience with change as he implements a process approach to the teaching of writing. Shows the development of a multistrand program that facilitates the writing development of the class as a whole. (MG)

Describes a course that resulted from the interest and need of the academic-advising office to serve undecided students more efficiently, preferably in a group-advising format. Finds that the resulting atmosphere seems to help students make significant progress in writing and in understanding their indecision. (MG)

Describes the development and evaluation of writing-across-the curriculum teacher inservice workshop at Virginia Commonwealth University. Characterizes the approach as a faculty-based model. Workshop topics included writing activities and assessment for individual psychology courses. Provides an extensive bibliography. (NL)

Contrasts immediate and delayed effects of focused freewriting and focused thought on lecture comprehension. Finds the immediate effect was increased comprehension. However, on a one-week delayed test, the performance of the focused freewriting group was below that of the focused-thought group. (Author/NL)

Writing quality of 2 seventh grade classes in Jerusalem of 22 students each was compared in 2 audience conditions: (1) to the teacher for grades, and (2) to a distant peer audience to share ideas. Papers written to communicate with peers were rated more highly than those written for grades. (SLD)

Assists writers in getting started, organizing material effectively, and producing high quality technical documents. Uses a nine-block information matrix to provide a system of checks to evaluate the paper. Indicates that each section of the matrix can be written separately and then combined into a coherent document. (Author/MVL)

Presents a demonstration that gives students an opportunity to observe how the composition of food can be analyzed. Outlines materials, directions, and background enrichment information. Cites additional references for use. (RT)

Beginning braille readers may benefit from an integrated-literacy curriculum which reflects the interrelationships of oral language, reading, and writing, and stresses the pleasurable and purposeful aspects of literacy. Integrating braille materials into daily curriculum activities can assist students to make the read/write connection and to begin…

A teacher of hearing-impaired students in grades three-six used dialogue journals with her students, and combined the use of dialogue journals with reading journals, which focus on specific, reading-related topic . The project evolved into a peer journal-reading program between two students. Journal use was subsequently incorporated into content…

Discusses four applications of the microcomputer to the classroom: (1) a program listing of how to draw circles on the Apple II computers; (2) using a database to help write stories; (3) switching computers with others while writing stories to encourage creativity; and (4) a listing of a LOGO kaleidoscope program. (MVL)

An innovative orientation program for freshmen at the University of Puget Sound called Passages and Preludes mixes outdoor fun with academic work. They meet in small groups with faculty members who introduce them to college-level reading and writing. For another two days the students hike, sail, fish and canoe. (MLW)

This study investigated the effects of manipulating design features of a computer-mediated text system, using 45 hearing-impaired subjects in grades four-six. A system design using motivational activities facilitated vocabulary knowledge and writing performance. Also analyzed were use of extrinsic motivational activities versus intrinsic, and…