Public criticism of the quality of education implies that teachers need a legal mandate to teach students to read and write. But while teachers may sometimes forget that transmitting knowledge of the English language is their most important function and that every child has the right to learn the language regardless of preconceived notions,…

Concerned with the failure of multiple choice tests to measure composition--as opposed to grammar and usage--skills, college researchers studied the value of using writing samples to place students in composition classes. Evaluating the writing samples of 300 incoming freshmen, they did not find a high correlation between sample scores and…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet focuses on how children and young adults make meaning in speech and writing and on ways teachers can encourage their language development. Following a brief introduction, the first major section of the booklet…

Reading/writing skills of prospective elementary and secondary school teachers from 7 colleges located in 4 geographical areas of the United States were examined to discover what test-performance differences, if any, occurred among the 375 subjects. Test instruments included: the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Form D); a Criterion-Referenced Test of…

A study was undertaken to examine the effects of teaching five writing rules on English summarization and comprehension under two conditions of reading instruction. The five summary writing rules taught included: (1) identifying unimportant statements, (2) identifying repetition of ideas in statements, (3) identifying lists of things or series of…

This lesson plan contains four activities based on the theme of newspapers and journalism. It includes a lesson to familiarize students with newspapers, journalistic writing, interviewing, and creating a class newspaper. The activities can be used as individual lessons or a larger project of creating a class newspaper.

To determine students' thought processes as they are writing, over 100 secondary school English students periodically were asked a set of questions immediately after an in-class writing activity, when they were most in touch with their own experiences. Questions were: (1) What things happen to you when you write? (2) What things concerning writing…

The digest is based on a full length report (with the same title) on postsecondary developmental programs. The full report provides a definitive review of the literature and institutional practice on the topic. Postsecondary developmental programs at institutions of higher education encompass a variety of courses and services that are conducted to…

This study was conducted to determine some of the effects of dyadic writing interactions on the writing of sixth graders, and specifically, to describe the effects of corresponding with pen pals who were students in a language arts methods course during their professional teacher education year. Twenty-seven sixth-grade students attended a school…

A three-year study examined the efficacy of microcomputers in the teaching of writing in the regular school classroom and combined experimental and observational methods to develop a model of effective application of computers to the eighth-grade writing skills situation. Divided into control, mixed, and experimental classes, 281 students in six…

An evaluation is presented of the remedial programs in each of New Jersey's 32 public colleges and universities. The academic outcome of full-time students entering in fall 1984 is tracked over four semesters. This analysis combines measures of the colleges' administrative efficiency in testing and enrolling students in needed remedial courses,…

A study examined an experimental curriculum developed to enhance students' literacy and social studies skills. Videodisc and text materials (the films "Young Sherlock Holmes" and "Oliver" and stories by Charles Dickens and Conan Doyle) were used to create a "macrocontext" for learning. The curriculum evaluation…

The Pima County Adult Education project undertook a demonstration project to provide English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) instruction to students with little or few reading skills. The project's objectives were to: enroll at least 20 students; provide 3 hours of literacy instruction weekly for at least 12 weeks in each of 2 sessions; document…

Developed as part of the Arkansas Minimum Performance Testing Program (MPT), these item specifications relate to the eighth grade language arts minimum performance test. There is one item specification for each instructional objective included in the MPT. Item specifications are intended to provide an overview of the general content and format of…

During winter semester 1989, Monroe County Community College (MCCC) developed a Writing Fellows program and introduced a Writing Center into the Learning Assistance Lab (LAL). Both these iniatives were part of the school's writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) efforts which had been launched in fall 1987. Writing Fellows are specially-trained peer…