Presents a social studies writing assignment which encouraged students to offer their personal reflections on the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. (MG)

Offers teaching tips on thematic writing assignments, student resubmission of papers, sharing memorable sentences from students' writings, and nontraditional grading policies in writing classes. (RDS)

Describes a 10-stage process approach to teaching technical students "definition." Includes an assignment that encourages the use of the defining process. Discusses advantages of the approach. (PRA)

Presents six reading and writing activities: "Details, Details, Details" (Rona F. Flippo and Judy Anderson Smith); "Reading and Writing Informational Texts" (Joyce Joranko); "The Teacher Writes: Before and for Children" (Ann Horn); "A School Newspaper: The Crown Press" (Judy Kissell); "Short Snappers…

Asserts that the literature on the use of writing in sociology ignores a systematic view of how writing relates to the discipline of sociology. Examines C. Wright Mills' concept of "sociological imagination." Provides suggestions for teachers who require student writing and seek to help student become better writers. (CFR)

Describes the Los Angeles Urbanscape Tour, in which the city of Los Angeles provides 11th graders with a living laboratory of the principles studied in-depth in their literature and social studies classrooms. Describes writing assignments which grew out of the tour. (SR)

Describes a project in which students combined personal narratives, drawings, and Japanese woodblock prints. Includes three examples of students' stories and prints. (SR)

Describes a writing assignment in which students write (and send) a letter to a famous person of their choosing. Notes one student's seriousness about the project and the usefulness of peer editing in revising. (SR)

Discusses the use of primary texts to introduce students to the period of reconstruction after the Civil War. Shows how texts can be used not only to illustrate the feelings and beliefs of the time, but also to engage students in debates over the correct uses of primary sources. (DSK)

Counters six arguments against humor in English classes. Presents arguments in support of studying humor in English classes, noting its usefulness and benefits. (SR)

Describes an assignment in a business-communication class in which student teams construct portfolios with articles from "The Wall Street Journal," explaining and clearly expressing how these articles relate to class concepts. Argues that the assignment encourages critical-thinking skills, focuses on writing skills, and develops an…

Discusses writing assignments in response to literature that encourage adolescent female students to construct knowledge by allowing the self back into the process of knowing and in so doing to discover their own voices and a position of authority. Argues that through such authentic engagement with texts, young women can become more active,…

Uses the modern concept of genre to define the "case write-up" (the dominant written genre in case-based business schools). Concludes that case write-ups prepare students for classroom performance in the central event of the classroom, the oral analysis of the case. Argues that the write-up prepares students to solve problems, make decisions, and…

Describes the evolution of an assignment in a college-level English class in which students present to the class their analysis of lyrics to a favorite song of theirs (on a particular topic). Shows how students thereby are eased into interpretation, critical examination, and some of the principles of literature. (SR)

Argues teachers must learn how to conceptualize the connections between the academy and society in ways that student, administrators, and teachers find convincing. Provides practical as well as theoretical justification for teaching public-discourse writing in a first-year composition course. Discusses several service learning projects produced by…