A multi-year study examined whether elementary school students can engage in historical thinking in a meaningful way, and what kind of writing activities best serve this purpose. Subjects were 17 students of varying language proficiency levels selected as the focus of research from the entire class of 31 primarily Hispanic and African-American…

An ethnographic study examined the personal and professional life experiences that contributed to a science teacher's beliefs about science and science teaching, and how these experiences interacted to affect the teacher's decisions about content literacy strategies. The teacher in question was a veteran of 16 years of teaching chemistry and…

Both teaching technical editing skills in a logical sequence from introductory through intermediate and advanced levels, and helping students learn how to offer creative help to authors call for a structured approach to the editing course. Editing students should already have a firm knowledge of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, as well as…

Five writing assignments, geared to the content of a community college course on international relations, are presented. The first four assignments deal with specific critical reading skills: (1) distinguishing fact from opinion; (2) analyzing the author's point of view; (3) detecting fallacies; and (4) comparing and contrasting articles which…

An analysis is provided of a fictitious community college English curriculum, considering curriculum content, entry and exit requirements, justification, and internal and external influences on course development and scheduling. Background information is provided on enrollment trends, ethnic enrollment, English proficiency testing, and course…

The first in a series on content area writing instruction, this booklet is intended for elementary school teachers who have taught writing, but who want to move into content writing topics and for teachers who are novices at teaching writing but who think content writing instruction might be an important skill to teach their students. The three…

Recognizing that writing across the curriculum supports the idea that writing is an integral part of the total learning process, this paper describes the philosophy of the writing program at Blue Ridge Technical College (North Carolina). It begins with some comments and thoughts on what makes writing worthwhile and how to judge good writing.…

Noting that the claim that writing is a way to learn underlies most writing across the curriculum programs, this paper provides an overview of recent research results supporting the claim and emphasizes the need for more research in this area. The paper first identifies three dominant interpretations in the writing across the curriculum…

Intended for teachers in all content areas, this guide provides activities for teaching formula poetry (poetry written according to a defined format) in all subject areas. First, a rationale for why teachers should include writing in their classrooms is presented. Next, the stages of the writing process are explained and the benefits of formula…

Intended to be a practical guide to prereading activities applicable in the classroom, this book emphasizes students' independence by shifting the focus of instruction to student-centered applications. Chapters of the book cover such topics as: (1) preparing students to read in the content areas; (2) asking and answering questions before reading;…

In order to ascertain the impact of post-graduate course work on curricular practice, a follow-up study was undertaken of the classroom writing practices of participants in the 1987 Writing as Process seminars sponsored by William Paterson College, New Jersey. Seminars were offered in four elementary school districts, each one taught by a William…

Designed for the classroom teacher, this composition handbook suggests ways in which the teacher can integrate composition activities with the Macmillan language program. The first part of the handbook examines the following research findings: (1) students learn to write by writing, (2) a variety of writing experiences is necessary, (3) the…

After providing a synthesis of research on the teaching of writing, this booklet offers summaries of writing programs in Washington State. Included are descriptions of (1) the Kettle Falls Secondary Language Arts Project, (2) the Kettle Falls rating scale for student writing, (3) Project WRITE, (4) the Puget Sound Writing Program, (5) the Edmonds…

Intended for elementary and secondary school teachers and curriculum planners, the more than 200 titles annotated in this bibliography discuss the theory and practice of teaching writing in the content areas. The citations are organized into seven sections: (1) writing theory and instruction, (2) writing-across-the-curriculum theory, (3)…

The New Center for Learning is an experimental program at East Texas State University which offers students an alternative, interdisciplinary general education curriculum which can improve student writing more than traditional programs do. Students in the program take 36 hours of courses throughout their college careers which are offered by a…