This workbook, for grades four through six, offers a humorous slant on the subject of grammar through comical examples of incorrect usage, in addition to exercises with a logic twist. The workbook teaches basic rules of language mechanics and reinforces the rules by showing the logic behind them. The book gives instruction, examples, and practice…

English language learners (ELLs) in today's U.S. middle schools and high schools face significant challenges from state writing assessments, and data suggest that they do not fare well. This paper seeks to uncover some of the reasons by posing the question: What is the available research base and practice literature to help teachers prepare ELLs…

Teachers' self-evaluation can be used as a diagnostic means by principals and coordinators in order to know where the teachers need help. This study presents a self-evaluation form designed to highlight the needs that English teachers teaching across all levels (preschool-12) at a school in Lebanon had. It was divided into two parts: the first…

The relationship between writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) programs and the first-year writing program has always been a delicate one. Although some WAC requirements have been formalized, faculty participation in programs is still largely voluntary. At Cornell University (New York), for example, teachers must require at least 6 and no more than…

A study investigated the relationship between reading and writing skills and their development in both native English-speakers (NES) and learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Subjects were 150 NES students, English majors in American universities, and 150 EFL students enrolled in schools of education at four Egyptian universities. Data…

Developed as part of the America Reads Challenge, this booklet helps teachers and learning partners to identify "checkpoints"--what most children can do in reading and writing by developmental periods and what most children can read, by grade level. The checkpoints are grouped largely by three-year developmental periods because children…

This computer program offers comprehensive English lessons for grades 3-4, focusing on usage and punctuation. Lessons are targeted to specific skills, and children earn tokens to play eight logic and action games. The program features imaginative graphics; teacher-approved, step-by-step lessons; individualized instruction tailored to the student's…

The term "rhetoric" is the object of a tug-of-war mostly between the study of certain forms of classical discourse and current teachers of (mostly college) writing who want to find a prehistory for their and "our" discipline. Efforts to invent and preserve disciplines have caused scholars to overlook more general considerations…

Public relations writing curricula must accurately reflect the writing responsibilities of public relations (PR) practitioners. This study provides descriptive information on the types of writing tasks conducted by PR practitioners. The study also investigates whether the type of writing and overall time spent writing vary with years of…

This study examined the spelling growth of kindergarten children on a monthly basis to determine if new information about the spelling growth of children could be found and if there was a relationship between spelling level and the point at which children begin to put spaces between words in written sentences. Twenty-seven kindergartners were…

This action research project describes a program to increase the basic writing ability and improve the attitude of sixth grade students. The targeted classroom was located in a unit district 45 miles northwest of a large metropolitan area. The district's population consists of a large amount of minority students and low-income families. Evidence…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the efficacy of a referential communication task for teaching written language skills to elementary school-aged children with learning disabilities. Participants included five dyads, each consisting of one child with a learning disability and one child with typical language…

In 1996, a California high school district and two colleges assembled intersegmental teams to establish common assessment of college-readiness in mathematics and English. Subject area teams reviewed standards, rubrics, and current tests. A Joint Assessment Team (JAT) explored the Golden State Exam (GSE) in Written Composition as a common tool. Its…

This annotated bibliography is intended to help teachers of composition improve writing quality of entering college students. The main body of the report is preceded by a brief summary of sources for faculty interested in examining the causes attributed to the decline in college students' writing skills, including: "National Assessment and the…

This book makes clear the connection between classroom writing and everyday writing by identifying common reader-centered writing features fundamental to both genres. It uses a building metaphor, a unique method that views writing as the putting together of ideas piece by piece to form a coherent structure. This process-oriented approach helps…