To enable junior high school students to relate the processes of reading, writing, and thinking through deliberate instruction and extensive classroom practice, a skills extension project was devised to develop original materials linked to the content areas of English and social studies. Another phase of the project provided for inservice training…

Intended for preservice and inservice teachers at all educational levels, but especially for those in English education classes, this book examines the foundations of grammar instruction and supplies some definitions and examples of grammar usage. Part one of the book explores relevant language research, reasons for teaching grammar, the…

A detailed description of a three-year project investigating the kinds of writing produced by Australian students in grades 10 through 12 is provided in this report. The various sections of the report describe the aims, objectives, and rationale for the project; some of its major assumptions and influences; a description of the student and teacher…

This is one in a series of eight discussion pamphlets produced by the Writing Across the Curriculum Project dealing with some of the issues connected with writing in the schools and their relation to learning. This pamphlet focuses on project work in the humanities. It uses examples of the writings of 14- to 16-year-old students to demonstrate the…

The 22 articles in this collection, written by experienced teachers of English, present effective learning activities for developing a variety of skills, qualities, and attitudes in writing. Demonstrating different teaching methods, the articles relate to key principles advocated by the National Writing Project: attention to fluency, peer…

The fifth report required by the Maryland Educational Accountability Act contains information about goals for Maryland public education and progress toward those goals. The first section explains accountability, the Maryland Accountability Act, and limitations of current instruments for measuring learning progress. The central purpose of the…

STORIES DICTATED BY STUDENTS FROM GRADES 1 AND 2 OF SCHOOLS IN A POVERTY AREA OF TUCSON, ARIZONA WERE TRANSCRIBED BY CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND ARE REPRODUCED WITH ACCOMPANYING SEMANTIC ANALYSES. ANALYZED FOR BASIC PREDICATION FORMS AND MAJOR FORM-CLASS CONCEPTS WHICH ARE CONTAINED IN THEM, THE STORIES ARE PRESENTED TO SHOW (1) DIFFERENCES IN THE…

IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT APPALACHIAN CHILDREN ARE NOT ILLITERATES. THEY HAVE A VERY SOPHISTICATED LANGUAGE WITH WHICH THEY COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WITHIN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY. THEIR LANGUAGE SYSTEM, HOWEVER, IS NOT LIKE THE STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH, BUT IS LEARNED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY FROM ORAL TRADITION AND HAS CHANGED VERY LITTLE FOR…

FOR A REPORT ON COLLEGE PROGRAMS IN FRESHMAN COMPOSITION, THE ASSOCIATION OF DEPARTMENTS OF ENGLISH OBTAINED SYLLABI AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FROM DIRECTORS OF FRESHMAN COMPOSITION AT 66 COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. AMONG THE DATA ASSEMBLED FOR THE FULL REPORT (AVAILABLE AS TE 500 190) ARE THE DESCRIPTIONS OF FRESHMAN ENGLISH PROGRAMS AT EIGHT…

This paper asserts that an English department that wishes to involve other departments in helping to improve students' writing skills must proceed through four distinct phases: (1) preparation of a rationale for involving other departments in the teaching of writing; (2) administration of a writing-attitude inventory to colleagues in other…

Designed to stimulate reluctant writers in grades five through eight, these 40 uncompleted stories were written by a teacher who has used them with success in the classroom. The stories are arranged by length and complexity, and topics range from tales of childhood experiences to accounts of history, nature, and science fiction. A section…

In order to determine if homogeneous grouping in basic expository writing classes makes teaching more effective, 2,212 incoming college freshmen were given a two-hour essay placement examination and divided into four groups according to the kinds of writing problems they had. They then enrolled in sections designated by placement group, except for…

Following a discussion of problems involved in using composition research, this paper describes six categories of research from which a taxonomy of compositional competencies may be abstracted: studies of rhetoric and discourse structure, developmental research, research on the composing process, research on various practice activities other than…

Designed to be a practical aid in the implementation of a minimal language arts program for kindergarten through grade five, this curriculum guide outlines the various skills which the child needs to master. Skills involving nonverbal communication, oral communication, literature, language, and written communication correlate to the specific…

The interview process provides students with a contextual framework for writing essays (reports, profiles, and arguments), because it helps them to identify and develop their own conceptual and investigative skills through dialogue with another person. Before the actual interview, it is important to choose a subject to interview, form a sense of…