Suggests that mode of discourse, experiential demand, and gender are significant predictors of writing quality. Finds that narrative writing tasks elicit higher ratings than descriptive or expository; writing tasks requiring personal response (rather than impersonal or outside knowledge) received higher ratings; and quality of writing was more…

Describes writing a novel about the "expectancy-loss" burden of a special needs student and the "teratophobia" of ordinary people. Discusses examples in literature, such as Charles Dickens's character Tiny Tim. Explores special needs student's way of awkwardly examining his life, as well as the trials of an author trying to…

Confronts the challenges of getting young actors to embrace the use of language. Presents a series of exercises designed to expose students to the potential power of the spoken word by using three different kinds of texts: advertising copy, children's storybooks, and the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Discusses how the author engages his…

This document contains some book suggestions to help introduce all the various parts of writing. Helping students understand figures of speech takes more than a book ? it takes a creative teacher and interested students. One book that teachers and students have had a great time with is Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards, (Kids Can Press, 2004,…

Designed to combine the science and the art of teaching composition, this series of assignments encourages junior high and high school writing students to explore tone, original visual images, point of view, and other literary techniques. One assignment asks students to write a number of paragraphs alternately using sarcasm, humor, melancholy, and…

More than 7,000 answers to the question "What can I write about?" are offered in this collection of writing topics for high school students. The topics are categorized in 12 sections: (1) description, (2) comparison and contrast, (3) process, (4) narrative writing, (5) classification and division, (6) cause and effect, (7) exposition,…

Teaching writing on the basis of purposes has certain advantages over teaching on the basis of techniques. The primary advantage is the greater resemblance to "real writing." Most student writing is apprentice work, as students themselves know, but it is far easier to point to nonacademic analogues of the categories of purpose (definition,…

Designed for use by composition students as well as teachers, the essays and background discussions in this book address themselves to questions of theory and practice in rhetoric. The book is divided into sections on invention, form, and style, and contains articles by such authors as Janet Emig, Wayne C. Booth, Richard L. Larson, Kenneth Burke,…

This guide discusses in detail a variety of issues important to the preparation of a good evaluation report. Main sections are concerned with describing the context of the program (locale, school system, etc.); explaining the program (scope, personnel, procedures, etc.); reporting the evaluation (objectives, sample, measuring and reporting change,…

The reader should be considered a guide to Native American literature. It is designed as an introduction to the study of the Native literature of the Americas. Content begins with the poetic art of the ancients. Special space is given to the Walum Olum, an example of the epic quality of Native literary art. In contrast, but also as a natural…

An approach to teaching descriptive writing and its values are discussed. Benefits derived from a descriptive writing unit are said to be the following: (1) Descriptive writing is fun; (2) It enables the instructor to demonstrate that the first word that pops into the writer's mind is often not the best one; (3) There is no easier way in which to…

The purpose of this book is to teach would-be authors how to write and publish a book for young people. Divided into 2 parts, "A Practical Guide to Publishing" and "Special Writing Problems and Projects," the book provides suggestions based on actual writers' experiences. Among the subjects covered are work habits, dialogue, characterization,…

Students asked to write directions for assembling a tinkertoy structure learned valuable writing skills as well as critical ability. (JH)

The importance of student teachers keeping a daily log describing how the day went is stressed. Toward the end of student teaching, a personal benefits paper is written on the benefits given to and received from pupils during student teaching. Examples of logs and papers are given. (MT)

The descriptions of a terrorist attack on a Paris restaurant--an audio recording of a juvenile eyewitness, an audio recording of a researcher reading a text about the event, and a newspaper account--are compared for discourse characteristics. (MSE)