Describes how one writing center with many English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students has integrated the "cultural informant" role of tutors with their role of teaching self-editing strategies. Reviews the process of introducing ESL students to use of a learner's dictionary, minimal marking, and error logs. Offers examples of using these…

Notes impact of high-stakes language arts assessments on teachers in Georgia rural districts. Provides additional support for what many English teachers already believe--that rich classroom discussion, reading from a variety of texts, student-centered writing assignments, and metacognitive awareness of one's reading and writing strategies…

Results of two studies support the contention that teaching metacognitive strategies with the aid of software packages can enhance positive transfer of reading comprehension and writing skills in very able fifth (n=140) and seventh (n=136) grade learners in Israel. Students receiving metacognitive instruction and using writing-skills software…

Describes an activity designed to enhance undergraduate student comprehension of the American Psychological Association (APA) manual and style where students examined a poorly written paper for errors in relation to the APA guidelines. Reports the results of a study that tested the effectiveness of the activity. (CMK)

Provides background information on the Document Based Question (DBQ) that is part of both the Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. and European history examinations. Includes an example of the process involved in analyzing documents during the AP examination. Discusses teaching techniques that can be used for the DBQ with the purpose of improving student…

The benefits of a self-regulated strategy development approach for teaching elementary school students with learning disabilities how to write opinion essays are discussed, and the steps of the POW plus TREE strategy of instruction are outlined: develop background knowledge, discuss, model, memorize, support it, and perform independently.…

This article describes a cognitive process model of writing as it pertains to adolescents with developmental disabilities. It then synthesizes what is known about the writing process, writing instruction, and technologies that may support the writing development in adolescents with developmental disabilities. Student writing samples and case…

A study investigated the use of a diagnostic and remedial adaptive computer tool to help an eighth-grader with low vision decrease spelling mistakes. Results indicate a clear change in the students' performance, from phonetic writing to process writing and a gradual evolution to automation in spelling and model word retrieval. (Contains…

Lucie, a Grade Two classroom teacher, and Kate, a university professor, engaged in an action research study that linked a trait-based writing instruction approach with a genre-focused instruction approach. To capture the experience, fieldnote observations, interviews and samples of students' work were collected. Lucie recognized the need to…

This review focuses on the development of writing research informed by a Vygotskian perspective. A methodological environment to aid the instruction of writing is presented. The review reveals the need to conduct research in developing students' inner voice, to lower the cognitive drain created during writing, and to understand how helpful the…

There is considerable concern that the majority of adolescents do not develop the competence in writing they need to be successful in school, the workplace, or their personal lives. A common explanation for why youngsters do not write well is that schools do not do a good job of teaching this complex skill. In an effort to identify effective…

Designed as a forum for the exchange of ideas on significant issues in the humanities, this annual journal presents articles written by two-year college faculty in the humanities disciplines. The 1994 issue includes the following articles: (1) "Notes to a Lecture on Euripides' Medea: Medean Apolis," by Daniel Canney; (2) "The Holocaust Experience:…

This book provides insight into the interrelationship among students' writing, their thinking about their writing processes, and the language of instruction. It offers information on both common and diverse patterns of understanding among children experiencing the same instructional program and explores the influence of instructional language on…

Designed for teachers, this collection of essays describes successful, practical, classroom-tested ideas for use with students of all ages. The collection presents contributions from 18 teaching creative writers who describe their single best writing assignment that never fails to inspire their students to tell stories, write autobiographical…

Children can create pantomimes that will motivate and enhance their story writing. The "Writing through Mime" program has been introduced to some 4500 children, grades kindergarten through 5, in 29 New York City elementary schools, under the auspices of the Learning through an Expanded Arts Program. A step-by-step blueprint was developed…