Thirteen curriculum strands that together constitute a framework for competent writing are detailed in this writing program guide. Each strand discussed begins with a statement of the expected learning outcome called a "program goal" and is further organized in a kindergarten through grade 12 sequence with objectives listed for each grade level.…

In compliance with Section 1 of the South Carolina 1978 Act 631, the following Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) information is reported: (1) the administration of tests for first grade readiness and grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8; (2) the development and field-testing of the 11th grade test; (3) the field-testing of mandated basic skills…

Two case studies of students learning to write academic discourse, particularly to maintain cohesion and relevance, are described. The two college students were part of a fourth-year biology class: one was a native English speaker, and the other spoke English as a second language. Both had a good command of spoken English grammar at the sentence…

The study considers broader issues of language in relation to high intelligence in primary school children. Section 1 reviews the views of several theorists regarding the relationship of man's ability to think and to speak. Section 2 considers theories of intelligence; while Section 3 looks at types of intelligence quotient tests (including the…

Using data consisting of descriptive and expressive-narrative essays written in 1969 and 1979 by black 17-year-old students in the stratified probability sample from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a study investigated which language patterns differentiated the NAEP essays written by black students in 1969 from those…

Intended to provide South Carolina educators with a tool for curriculum and instructional development that complements the assessment of the state writing objectives, this guide focuses on that part of the curriculum reflected in the state basic writing skills objectives. The various sections in the first part of the guide: (1) discuss the…

A response to a piece of student writing will be most effective if it helps students consciously identify and solve their composing problems, stimulates them to use the response, and helps them to transfer these practiced skills. Furthermore, the response should (1) take place during the process of writing rather than after a piece is completed,…

The writing of five consecutive classes of first grade students was analyzed to investigate the selection of topic, theme, and mode in six-year-old children learning to read and write through the use of an invented spelling approach in an open classroom. The writing studied was in the form of 993 "books" (several sheets of paper stapled…

This volume surveys major sources of published data on the academic performance of California public secondary school students and compares current performance levels to those attained in the State in the recent past, as well as to national trends. Chapter I is an introduction. Chapter II, "General Measures of Student Preparation,"…

Involving 619 preschool children, a longitudinal investigation evaluated a new test for identifying preschool children who produce an excessive number of form errors in printing. All children participating were fluent in English and were in the appropriate grades for their ages, either pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, when they were given the…

The teaching activities presented in these articles integrate language skills in the social studies curriculum in a variety of ways. The paper describes (1) producing a news program in the classroom; (2) creating "word webs" (using a core word to make associations with other words); (3) making jackdaws (a collection of anything, real or imaginary,…

Three classroom activities that can help students become better writers by building on skills they already have as well as by providing them with necessary strategies are conferences, journals, and class discussions. Conference groups--made up of three to five students discussing rough drafts of each other's written work and recorded by tape or…

A collection of articles showing the role played by the Australian Primary English Teaching Association in contributing to the quality of educational thought, this publication is intended to stimulate and challenge discussion on a wide range of educational ideas and issues. The first part deals with half-truths about learning, learning in school,…

This paper synthesizes some of the many ideas and issues pertaining to research on the development of writing skills, and on creating new technologies for writing. Such technologies include computer-based production tools, videodiscs, and other mass storage technologies with potential for knowledge storing and structuring. The discussion also…

This guide for writing research or technical reports discusses eleven basic elements of such reports and provides examples of "good" and "bad" wordings. These elements are the title, problem statement, purpose statement, need statement, hypothesis, assumptions, procedures, limitations, terminology, conclusion and recommendations. This guide is…