Describes an activity/assignment involving composition and cooperative learning which is designed to help students learn to attend to context clues. (SR)

Describes a communication course given at the Nanyang Technological Institute in Singapore to accountancy and commerce students who are nonnative English speakers. The ability to communicate effectively in a business environment, orally and in writing, is emphasized rather than English proficiency. The course includes lectures, writing…

Describes the planning and implementation of a computerized writing center that is located in a high school library. Cooperation between the librarian and the classroom teacher is discussed; various writing assignments and the role of the librarian are described; and library services to teachers that support the writing center are explained. (LRW)

Discusses revision as a form of learning and as a response to all kinds of literature, whether imitating what went before, reacting against it, or making something genuinely new of it. Offers numerous writing activities based on this idea. (SR)

Considers how writing teachers can help students become more inventive writers. Gives different techniques for developing invention skills. Outlines an approach for fostering invention in writing. (HB)

Discusses the experiences of a writing teacher as she conducts inservice teacher workshops and writing workshops for students. Notes that, when students are invited to write with passion about those things that they really understand and to which they have an emotional connection, teachers may be surprised at what students can do. (RS)

Describes the activities in a high school English class aimed at instructing students concerning the concept of "historical fiction." Outlines class activities in which students are asked to write fictional narratives based on the history of their local high school. (HB)

Describes an approach to teaching a literature-based first-year composition course that allows students to read poetry and understand it, which in turn helps them to become better writers. Outlines class activities and writing assignments that foster independent thinking and personal writing, finally leading to essays. (HB)

Describes how one English teacher developed an approach to teaching writing that pairs student writers with writers in the community outside the school. Outlines the features of this writing partners project, including the responsibilities of each partner. Argues that such programs foster writer skill and self-esteem. (HB)

Describe the experiences of a writing teacher as she completed a biography-writing assignment along with her students. Notes that teachers can gain insights into (and an understanding of writing they assign) by doing the assignments along with their students. Notes that many students, even reluctant writers, produced memorable biographies of…

Offers 11 classroom tips from teachers for a variety of activities, including fictional movie reviews, haiku writing, questions to develop student journals, handouts, rewriting stories, and a "dirty trick" to get better research topics. (SR)

To address concerns that college students do not develop adequate oral communication skills, guidelines are offered to faculty for designing oral presentation assignments within their courses, developing grading criteria, guiding students in their preparation for speaking, and addressing some of the unique challenges of this process, which include…

Explores how social-studies student teachers think about and write about history through an examination of their historical thinking, use of sources, and writing. Focuses on constructing historical accounts from multiple sources. Discusses common patterns in thinking and writing. Suggests way to improve student teachers' engagement with historical…

Describes a writing assignment in which students think about how their families celebrate their own cultures through special meals or a certain dish, find out how this dish became part of their rituals, write a brief summary of the history of the dish, and write up the recipe itself. (SR)

Argues that examining leaders and leadership techniques is a valid subject for technical and professional writing and communication classes. Describes an assignment for studying leadership and provides related instructional materials. (CR)