Ideas for technical writing assistance and resources that are available to Purdue University faculty who incorporate a writing component into their courses are presented in this guide. Following an introduction containing the purpose, background, and scope of the guide, three main topics and their subtopics form the guide's structure: (1)…

In Western culture literacy encompasses a constellation of values and beliefs far beyond what might be attributed to the mechanical ability to read and write. Many people prize literacy as an end in itself, and attribute to it a whole spectrum of values and social privileges disproportionate to its actual functions in society. They forget that…

Four commercially available instructional software programs for high school journalism students are examined in this paper, which also contains suggestions on their use. The four programs reviewed in the paper provide (1) practice in finding the best interview sources in a newsgathering simulation (Super Scoop); (2) review and reinforcement of…

Intended to help elementary school children integrate the skills of writing and reading at an early age, this booklet discusses research concerning the cognitive processes and acquisition of reading and writing skills, and presents teaching methods and resources to help young children make the connection. The first half of the booklet explores…

A list of basic study practices and strategies, with examples and alternatives that focus on both receptive and productive skills and the value in interaction, is presented. The following hints are included: (1) don't study a language by yourself and in silence, but study aloud and with another person; (2) use the target language as much as…

Intended to give basic students simultaneous practice in reading and writing with an emphasis on accuracy, conciseness, and precision, the "finding the beef" method centers itself on summaries of news events. The first step of the method is to supply students with the appropriate data blocks based on news events, preferably those…

A study was conducted to examine the effects of students' interests on their writing. A group of 571 high school seniors, fluent and nonfluent in writing, completed a questionnaire dealing with aspects of writing interest, such as subject, form, or voice. Tape recorded interviews addressing the same aspects were conducted with 11 fluent seniors…

A study was conducted to explore the possibility of career education's impact upon a broad range of basic skills, including skill areas where standardized test scores are usually not available. Information was obtained through structured interviews with nineteen elementary (grades 1-5) teachers in seven schools in Rockford, Illinois, who were…

The swinging of the educational pendulum in English-from a disillusionment with teaching grammar in the 1960s to the romance with "the basics" in the 1970s reveals the failure of English teachers to come to grips with languge and learning. This failure is due largely to a prevailing orientation toward the study of language as an object, rather…

A one semester high school industrial English course emphasizes the reading, writing, and speaking skills that relate to improved performance and understanding of vocational concepts. The course, particularly valuable for students who do not plan to attend college, is built around 15 units, which are varied according to student needs. The units…

The material collected in this workshop report offers teaching techniques for technical writing instructors at universities and junior colleges. The variety of topics indicates both the broad impact of technical writing and the many specific needs of technical writers. The workshop's discussions and papers focused on a variety of needs and…

Elementary teachers should focus attention on language activities that involve naturally the reciprocal relationships among listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Teachers need to value, use, and make useful the background and language of all students, through a Language Experience Approach (LEA) in which students dictate and write about…

The purpose of this study was to determine if developmental junior-college students' overall achievement in composition skills could be increased, and their self-concepts improved, by the use of individual teacher/student conferences. The sample used for the study consisted of 62 junior-college students enrolled in a developmental English course.…

This handbook introduces English teachers to the use of simulation games as a serious method for teaching composition, language, and literature. In the first section, separate chapters discuss the rationale for game-playing; the teacher's role in simulations and ways in which classroom interaction changes when games are used; a step-by-step…

This publication describes classroom activities that teach language arts skills through the use of newspapers and magazines. The activities, which include activities for individuals and for groups, involve students in reading and learning about numerous items in the newspaper, including comics, advertisements, editorials, news stories, and…