The study described in this paper was designed to compare the composing processes of three black adolescent females--a low, a moderate, and a high user of nonstandard dialect. After explaining the procedures used in selecting the subjects on the basis of their degree of usage of nonstandard dialect features, the paper describes the research…

A study was conducted focusing on three aspects of a developmental English program in which underprepared freshmen were able to earn regular composition credit while receiving additional help in both reading and writing. An examination of the scores on the Iowa Silent Reading Test compared to scores on two writing tests was made and some…

A study was conducted to identify characteristics of student writers that might be used to predict which of two invention procedures--free writing or the tagmemic heuristic procedure--would be more effective in improving writing skills. A secondary purpose was to investigate whether writing improvement correlated with a lessening in anxiety. Three…

Presents the first year findings of a three-year longitudinal collaborative research project which focuses on one teacher's professional growth as he moves from a product-oriented to a process-oriented approach to teaching writing. (JK)

Compares the summary writing strategies used by professional writers, remedial college English students, and outstanding high school students. Concludes that the subjects fell into two groups--amateur and professional, with evident differences in reading processes, note taking, abstracting, monitoring, analyzing, and writing processes. (FL)

Developed as a vehicle of communication for the Reading Recovery Council of North America, this journal represents an international effort to connect researchers, teachers, and all those interested in early literacy. Articles in the first issue of this second volume are: "Oral Language: Assessment and Development in Reading Recovery in the…

Reports on a study of stories written by eighth graders in three very different schools, stories carrying powerful messages about how girls understand their place in the world. Finds that, in one set of stories, females control their lives only as long as they are "good," and in the other set, autonomous female protagonists fail (often for no…

Examines early stages in children's handwriting, emphasizing the importance of teaching correct letter formation. Recommends (1) individual initial assessment and formative assessment throughout the teaching program; (2) teaching based on individual children's errors; and (3) careful observation of individual children in the process of writing.…

Analyzes above and below average readers' informational reports, which synthesize both source texts and writer-generated materials. Concludes that general reading ability and success at synthesizing overlap, and that success at synthesis may be related to cognitive factors associated with comprehension, such as sensitivity to text structure. (RS)

Presents a continuation of previous research on a general development process consisting of successive levels in conceptualization. Explores how young children conceptualize the writing system. Considers both social background and preschool system of education. Concludes that teaching activities used in French nursery schools are less effective…

Argues that lack of attention to the student's perspective (how they react to, and what sense they make of, their teachers' comments) limits the conclusions that can be drawn from research on teacher response. Reviews three articles in the same issue of this journal that deal with teacher response to student writing in light of this limitation.…

Responds to three articles in this same issue on response to student writing. Analyses the consensus view of responding to student writing in order to highlight missing or misconceived elements of current theory. Offers a speculative outline for a more comprehensive study of response. Offers two variations on the theme of response, depicting it as…

By the 1980s, the whole language philosophy (Goodman, 1986), based on the idea that reading and writing should be done for authentic purposes, gained credibility. As the movement gained momentum, more teachers began to adopt the student-centered writing workshop as a way of teaching writing. A study of a class of 27 culturally diverse third…

Exploring what happened in the classroom as a teacher used a whole language approach with her culturally varied, urban fourth-grade students, this report tells the story of a unit on personal, narrative writing which occurred from April to June. The report describes how the teacher established routines to make the unit work, and how the teacher…

Covering a wide variety of issues of concern to educators, the papers compiled in this proceedings report present graduate student research on writing instruction, mathematics instruction, cooperative learning groups, a follow-up program to Project Head Start, relationships between language and music, and the self-concept of gifted children. The…