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)

Investigates English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' native literacy-learning experiences, via written learning autobiographies of 26 students from at least eight different countries. Discusses writing instruction in students' native languages; most satisfying writing assessment in their native languages; and differences between writing in…

Observes that writing is a process of learning and that students learn best when the writing process is well-organized. Outlines a process for writing, named DRAFT (Design, Role, Audience, Format, and Topic), that bridges social studies with critical thinking and problem solving, and allows writing projects to be easily transformed into models…

Presents an active learning project for use in teaching social activism and social movements. Discusses students' backgrounds, the course outline, the context of the assignment, the project itself, measures of the effectiveness of the assignment, and limits and problems with it. Notes other topics for which the assignment could be adapted. (DSK)

Describes an assignment that immerses students in regional study based on the belief that students' learning is enhanced when they acquire a personal sense of travel in that region. Asks students to research and write narrative travelogues describing vicarious travel in a region. Discusses student reactions and pedagogical outcomes. (DSK)

Examines whether the use of progressive writing for a psychology paper assignment affects students' writing and motivation when used to discuss course material illustrated in popular movies. Reveals that the students felt their writing improved and 44% of the students earned 90% of the overall points; student motivation was lower than expected.…