Informational texts include books as well as text in other formats such as magazines, newspapers, and online articles. The primary purpose of informational text is to provide information about the natural and social world. Literacy research cites many reasons why nonfiction/informational texts should be included in primary classrooms. The…

"Primary research counts, but we don't teach it." This was the sentiment, if these were not the actual words, of Lynee Lewis Gaillet in her critique of the traditional composition curriculum at the spring 2011 annual meeting of the College English Association in St. Petersburg. Gaillet proposes an alternative to furthering students' sometimes…

In her recent "Teaching English in the Two-Year College" ("TETYC") article, Denise Marchionda argues for a grading system in her first-year writing course that turns over responsibility to students for earning grades. The approach, which she calls "the point-by-point grading system," is a variation on a contract grading approach in which each…

In order to consistently give quality feedback to students, the author introduces the revision and automation tools in Microsoft Word 2007. These features, Comments, Tracking, and Changes, are part of the Review group in MS Word 2007. Additionally, the AutoCorrect feature can be used to enhance and support editing endeavors. This article offers a…

Traditional writing assignments only teach students to write for academic settings. Assigning students policy briefs and policy memos gives them the opportunity to practice the type of writing they will perform both inside and outside of academia while still developing critical thinking skills and an understanding of the political world. Including…

Handwriting difficulties or dysgraphia have a profound impact on children's psychosocial development, and yet, 10-30% of school-aged children are reported to experience difficulties mastering this skill. Several studies have examined the nature and biomechanical underpinnings of handwriting difficulties in children with and without dysgraphia.…

Johns reports in his text "Kibbitzing one-to-ones" (1997) that corpus-informed metatalk with a foreign language expert helps apprentice writers to make progress in independent text revision. Expecting this progress to be based on the development of expert-like ways to observe language features, I integrated Johns' so-called kibbitzing…

This qualitative study describes the experience of a cross-age tutoring intervention for three PreKindergarten/Kindergarten-aged students with autism and their fourth grade general education tutors. Data were collected in an inclusive environment; the school library. Three fourth grade general education cross-age tutors were trained to use a…

A comparison of published statements about the source-use skills of sophomores in the 1990s and those revealed by the more recent Citation Project study of researched writing suggests that many of the assumptions driving pedagogy, policy, and curricula need to be revised and that faculty working across the disciplines should work with students on…

This article describes how the incorporation of a writing assignment, creating a book about culture and science, into the syllabus of methods science course for preservice teachers, was used to foster science content learning. Preservice teachers were actively and purposely engaged in science learning through the generation of a book about a…

English 341: Advanced Composition for Teachers is a three-credit undergraduate course for pre-service educators at Francis Marion University, a mid-size public university located in northeast South Carolina. According to the university catalog, students enrolled in English 341 "explore connections among writing, teaching, and learning as they…

This study presents the results of a pilot learning intervention for improving children's ideas about plant protection. The research was executed in two phases. The first phase aimed at exploring children's ideas about plant protection. These ideas were taken into account for the design and development of a digital learning environment. The second…

This research paper explores students' motivation and teachers' teaching practices towards the writing of compositions in the conventional paper-based (paper and pencil) and the online blogs mode. Six classes of Grade 5 (224 students) and four English teachers in an elementary-level future school in Singapore were involved in this study. A total…

Some researchers claim that reflection helps student teachers to better understand their practice teaching. This study aims to explore how deliberate reflection by student teachers is encouraged as a way to prepare, analyse and evaluate their practice. A total of 104 student teachers in primary education participated in this study during their…

Although there is widespread agreement among academics that critical thinking is an important component to the college classroom, there is little empirical evidence to verify that it is being taught in courses. Using four sections of introductory sociology, we developed an experimental design using pretests and posttests to assess students'…